By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

At the beginning of June and after months of debate, the Kansas Legislature was forced to realize the budget signed by Gov. Sam Brownback could not be funded completely through current taxes at the beginning of June.

The Legislature faced two options, massive budget cuts or higher taxes.

With many Republicans in the Legislature having signed no-tax-increase pledges, raising taxes was the last thing they seemed to want to do, instead considering a plan that would have defunded higher education in Kansas.

The amount of money the state provides to higher education is nearly equal to the $400 million revenue shortfall Kansas faced.

Hays Post spoke with Mirta Martin, Fort Hays State University president, about the push to keep higher education funding to all the Kansas Regents schools shortly after the June vote that raised taxes in order to keep higher education funded through the state.