TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback says a high school’s purchase of a new grand piano illustrates that Kansas’ formula for funding its public schools is flawed.

The Republican governor on Thursday mentioned the new piano at Sumner Academy in Kansas City, Kansas, in announcing plans to cut $28 million in aid to public schools from the current budget.

The local school board purchased the piano last month for more than $47,000. The Kansas City district says it replaced an aging instrument to help students pursuing careers in music and preparing to audition for scholarships.

Brownback said in a statement that the money should have been used to hire another teacher and reduce class sizes.

The district noted it used capital outlay funds, which by law can’t be spent on salaries.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wesley Medical Center plans to open a $28 million children’s hospital on its main campus in Wichita.

Wesley officials said Thursday the hospital, which will be attached to its current building, will offer 30 private rooms for pediatric patients and 16 private intensive care rooms.

Bill Voloch, interim president and CEO at Wesley, says the current hospital has 12 pediatric intensive care unit rooms but eight are not private.

Construction could to start as early as June and be completed within 12 to 18 months.

The Wichita Eagle reports the new hospital could offer 40 to 50 new jobs in the next five years.

Currently, the closest children’s hospitals to Wichita are in Kansas City and Oklahoma City.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and Kansas legislators are planning to attend a town hall meeting on the future of Fort Riley.

The meeting on Feb. 9 was called to allow Army officials to hear from the community about how possible troop reductions at Fort Riley would affect them.

Fort Riley employs more than 25,000 people in the Junction City area. In a news release, Fort Riley said as many as 16,000 could be dismissed or redeployed.

The base is one of 30 military installations across the U.S. that could see troop reductions as a result of the federal budget cuts and personnel reductions to the Army.

The forum will be held at the Geary County Convention Center in Junction City.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Tim Huelskamp (KS-01), voted in support of H.R. 527, the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvement Act which passed the full House on Thursday by a vote of 260-163. The Congressman, a member of the Small Business Committee, is a cosponsor of the legislation which will subject all federal agency rulemaking to scrutiny from small business review panels to study the direct and indirect costs of new regulations to small businesses.

“Regulations by the Obama Administration are driving hard working Americans on Main Street out of business. Across the Big First District, I hear over and over again about how the red tape coming out of Washington is stifling economic growth and hindering innovation for small business owners. It is Main Street businesses, our small businesses, that are the heart and soul of our economy and which without there will be no economic recovery.

“I am happy to see my Republican colleagues in the House are prioritizing legislation that puts businesses first – and not special interests. This bill is a necessary first step in preventing any additional bureaucratic red tape from crushing small business productivity and preventing economic growth. While our work fighting against big government regulations such as the proposed Waters of the United States rule and the listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken is far from finished, this bill will limit the ability of unelected bureaucrats to regulate us to death.

“It is time for some red tape relief. It is time for some regulatory certainty. It is time to free up Main Street so they can kick start our economy – and get America back to work.”

NICHOLAS CLAYTON, Associated Press

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers are working to reduce the state’s prison population and costs, but parallel legislation to toughen penalties could stymie their efforts.

The Kansas Sentencing Commission has submitted bills to the Legislature that would free up 150 beds in state prisons and save $3.6 million. One measure would keep offenders out of prison on their first two marijuana possession convictions. Another would allow some prisoners to get out of jail earlier for good behavior.

Kansas’ prisons are already over capacity and their populations are growing. Furthermore, the state faces a projected budget shortfall of almost $600 million for the next fiscal year.

But the Legislature is also considering bills to lengthen sentences for drunk driving, home burglary and scrap theft. These could nullify the effect of the sentencing commission’s efforts.

By ANDY MARSO
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday released a drastically streamlined application for access to drugs still in testing.

The move could have implications for a “Right to Try” bill in the Kansas Legislature that says terminally ill Kansans may access those drugs without applying to the FDA.

Proponents of the bill say that the current FDA application process can take more than 100 hours for a physician to complete, which makes it difficult to find doctors willing to do so.

In a post Wednesday on the FDA Voices website, Peter Lurie, the agency’s associate commissioner for public health strategy and analysis, said the new application should take 45 minutes.

“We know why patients want access to these drugs, and we know how busy their treating physicians can be,” Lurie wrote. “So we streamlined the new draft form to be shorter and simpler for physicians to fill out. The new draft form, when finalized, will require only eight elements of information and a single attachment.”

The new application is two pages long. It asks for the patient’s initials and clinical history, the proposed treatment plan for the drug requested, a letter of authorization from the drug manufacturer and information about the applying physician, including his or her educational and professional credentials.

The FDA also proposed adding an “emergency” application process that can be done over the phone by a physician and an agency representative.

The FDA has provided an “expanded access” program for people with serious or terminal illnesses to obtain investigational drugs since 2010. Use of the program jumped last year to 1,873 people — a record high. The agency has accepted all but 33 of the 5,995 applications submitted in the program’s history.

The new application has been submitted for public comment but is not final.

Meanwhile, Kansas’ Right to Try Act remains in the House Health and Human Services Committee, where it awaits a vote after a hearing last week.

Rep. Brett Hildabrand, one of a trio of conservative Republicans who co-sponsored it, said he applauds the FDA effort to streamline the application process but will continue pushing the state legislation to circumvent the process.

“I obviously still want to see us progress here in Kansas and look into how the two methods can match up,” Hildabrand said.

Rep. John Wilson, a Democrat from Lawrence, said he wanted to look into the FDA changes, which might make it prudent to wait before voting on HB 2004.

“(I) generally feel that if the FDA is speeding up an existing process that essentially accomplishes the same goal of Right to Try, then I think we should hold off on Right to Try,” he said. “At least until next session.”

Andy Marso is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.