Hays hopes to focus additional state funds on personnel

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The Hays school district hopes to use additional state money to improve salaries and hire more personnel, Superintendent John Thissen said Tuesday.

The Kansas Legislature approved more than $500 million more for school funding to be phased in over five years. The state has been dealing with the Gannon v. Kansas lawsuit filed in 2010 that argued the amount of money going to Kansas schools was not equitable or adequate.

The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Monday the state’s funding formula was equitable to poor districts, but the Legislature still had not dedicated enough money to the school funding formula. The Supreme Court gave the state until June 2019 to increase school funding further.

School districts across the state, including Hays, have been in a holding pattern, waiting for the court’s decision before finalizing their budgets for the 2018-19 school year.

District officials statewide will gather for budget meetings during the second week of July, which is much later than normal. A final budget has to be to county clerks by Aug. 24, which means the school boards will have first review of the budget at their Aug. 6 meetings and final approval of their budgets on Aug. 20.

Tracy Kaiser, Hays director of finance, said the district has been working on the budget for months based on the assumption schools would at least receive the amount the Legislature approved in the spring.

The increase will mean $404,816 more in the general fund for Hays for the next school year, and $242,553 more for USD 489 in special education funds. However, Kaiser noted the district is losing $241,650 from the sate in declining enrollment funding.

In an interview on the KAYS Radio Morning Show, Thissen said the additional funds the district will receive will be used to increase salaries and add certified and classified staff.

Kaiser said the district has faced so many cuts since 2008, it is trying to increase staffing levels to where they were before the recession.

Some of the hires will be for more teachers aides at the elementary level and a least one teacher who will work as a career specialist in the new JAG-K program. JAG-K works with students, who might be at risk of not graduating high school, to achieve academic and career goals.

The district is in the midst of teacher negotiations right now. The board met in executive session to discuss negotiations Monday night, and district officials are set to meet with the Hays NEA negotiations team again on Thursday. Kaiser said she hoped the negotiations would be resolved soon and would not have to go well into the school year as it has in years past.

Kaiser reported at the school board meeting Monday the district was 8 percent under budget as of May. The district’s budget year concludes June 30.

The board approved a transfer of $300,000 to its contingency fund at the meeting Monday. Thissen noted this was budgeted. With the addition of the $300,000, the district will have $961,828 in its contingency account. However, the Kansas Department of Education recommended districts have two months of salary in contingency. For Hays that would be $4.8 million. Thissen said the district’s contingency fund is still short of where it needs to be.

The Hays school board Monday also briefly touched on the capital outlay fund. Board member Greg Schwartz asked the administration to re-evaluate its busing system and look for ways to decrease costs. Several years ago, the district restricted bus routes to those students living 2.5 miles or more from school. This is the requirement for reimbursement from the state for transportation.

Thissen also reported repairs to a water main that failed this spring will cost less than expected. The bid for the repairs came in at $19,000. Thissen told the board preciously he thought the repairs would cost more than $20,000.