Students in Kansas are bearing more than two-thirds of the cost of their education at public universities in the state.
That’s a sharp increase over the last 16 years. In 2001, revenue from tuition was little more than a third of the cost of education — about 35 percent. Today it’s just over 71 percent.
The main reason students — rather than the state — are paying a majority of the cost is years of state funding cuts. Funding for higher education has faced multiple cuts over the past decade. Adjusted for inflation, Kansas universities lost more than a quarter of their state funding since 2001.
That has caused universities to turn to tuition hikes. Since 2001, revenue from tuition for state universities increased more than 2.5 times (also adjusted for inflation).
“This, of course, doesn’t take into account expenses that they have for books or student fees,” said Elaine Frisbie, the vice president for finance and administration for the Kansas Board of Regents.
Those fees have also jumped, at least in part as a reaction to lower state funding.
CREDIT STEPHAN BISAHA / SOURCE: KANSAS BOARD OF REGENTS
The future of state funding and tuition is uncertain. While the Kansas Board of Regents is pushing the Legislature to restore $24 million from recent cuts, lawmakers have hinted at the possibility of more cuts to pay for K-12 funding.
Frisbie says the Board of Regents will review possible tuition increases for 2019 this summer, though she suspects the board is concerned about how tuition increases would further block Kansans’ access to higher education.
“Whether they are willing and interested in having the universities continue to increase tuition is going to be an interesting discussion,” Frisbie said.
There’s a third factor that goes into the cost of tuition: the actual cost of education. And that cost has grown over the last 16 years, outpacing inflation.
Some of the rise in education spending is out of the universities’ hands. State university faculty, for example, have a state employee health plan. As premiums go up, so does the cost of education.
“We are looking at ways of how do we reduce our costs and be more efficient,” said Ethan Erickson, the assistant vice president for budget planning at Kansas State University.
“But, at the end of the day, there are going to be some areas where if we want to continue to maintain and provide an excellent educational opportunity we have to able to increase and adjust for those operational costs,” he said.
Despite the increases to tuition, Erickson argues that K-State is worth the cost.
“Kansas State University is an exceptional bargain for our citizens,” he said. “We still provide a great value for our customers.”
Stephan Bisaha is an education reporter for the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @SteveBisaha.
Fort Hays State University’s Department of Social Work will host its annual J.V. Caprez Social Work Field Day from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Friday, April 6, in the Memorial Union’s Fort Hays Ballroom on the FHSU campus.
Speakers will be Rhonda Weimer, licensed clinical social worker, assistant professor of social work and BSW program director at FHSU, and Dr. Tami Radohl, licensed clinical social worker and director of field education at Park University in Parkville, Mo.
Topics will include differential diagnostic criteria between traumatic brain injuries and depression, anxiety, autism and ADHD; signs and symptomology of each diagnosis; potential treatment approaches for traumatic brain injuries; and information on how to partner with physicians and mental health professionals.
Morning session (8 to 11:45 a.m.): Differential diagnosis of traumatic brain injuries between anxiety, depression, autism and ADHD. Afternoon session (1 to 4:15 p.m.): Assessment tools, diagnostic practice and treatment.
The event is free and open to the public. If requesting a continuing education credit, the cost is $25 per individual session or $40 for both sessions.
For almost 30 years, high school girls wrestling has quietly grown both nationally and in the state of Kansas. But in recent years, the growth has been substantial and not so quiet.
Just fewer than 9,000 girls participated in wrestling nationally in 2012 and, in just a five-year span, that number ballooned to 14,587 girls in 2017. Despite the dramatic increase in participants, girls wrestling is still not a sanctioned by a majority of state high school athletic associations including Kansas.
The few states that have sanctioned high school girls wrestling have experienced huge numbers of growth in competition due to the fact that the girls participating can wrestle against other girls for post season tournaments instead of wrestling boys like in non-sanctioned states.
For example:
• The state of Tennessee experienced 294 percent growth in girls wrestling participants from 2014-2017 after sanctioning the sport in 2015.
• California participants increased by 202 percent from 2010-2017.
• Washington state sanctioned girls wrestling in 2007 and had a 628 percent participation increase over the next 10 years.
Although girls wrestling is not a sanctioned sport in Kansas (meaning there is no official girls post season tournament), there has been a growth in girls divisions and tournaments throughout the regular season in the past two years. According to McPherson wrestling coach Doug Kretzer, prior to 2017, there were no girls tournaments or divisions for Kansas girls to wrestle other girls unless they happened to face another school that also had a girl wrestler. In 2017, Kretzer lead the charge in holding a girls-only competition.
This year’s Kansas girls state championships in McPherson.
“Just by letting girls know that we were going to find competition for them and give them the opportunity to compete against other girls any chance we got, even if it was only in practice, we had 13 girls come out for wrestling and not a single one quit,” Kretzer said. “We at McPherson decided to have a girls division at our JV tournament in December of 2017. Thirteen schools brought girls, and we wrestled the first-ever girls tournament and girls-only division in the state of Kansas.”
After other schools realized that there were plenty of participants to hold girls-only events, three more competitions took place in 2017 throughout the state, including a unofficial girls state tournament to finish the year hosted by McPherson High School and Coach Kretzer. In that inaugural state tournament in February 2017, 36 schools with a total of 56 girls competed for a state title. This year, there were nine total girls events in Kansas and again McPherson hosted an unofficial state tournament. Fifty-seven schools showed up and 145 girls competed in the tournament.
“We went from never having a single girls competition in the state of Kansas to four last year then to nine this year,” Kretzer said. “The girls that are saying yes with the limited opportunity. What happens if you turn them loose against other girls? Girls wrestling is just waiting to blow up, in my opinion.”
One of the schools participating in this year’s state tournament for the first time was Trego Community High School. Freshmen Jessika Chapman and Sydney Boyle competed in the tournament, but when they first stepped on the mat this year, Trego wrestling coach Jeremy Sampson wasn’t sure what to do with them.
Jessika Chapman and Sydney Boyle at Great Bend tournament.
“I told the girls and their parents from the beginning that I was not going to expect anything less from you that I expect from the boys. I made them fully aware of that going in and they never once complained,” Sampson said. “They did the workouts the boys did and they knew their practice partners were going to be boys most of the time because they were in different weight classes and I couldn’t always put them together.”
Both freshmen wrestled in the varsity lineup for Trego County (the only Mid-Continent League team that has female wrestlers) during the season and mostly wrestled against boys.
“They competed hard and took knocks each and every week, but every Monday they would come back to practice with smiles on their faces when they came into the wrestling room,” Sampson said. “I told them I was going to try and get them into some girls-only events.”
It was at this year’s unofficial state tournament in McPherson that Sampson realized the potential of girls wrestling in Kansas.
“I’m telling you, that event opened up my eyes,” he said. “It’s not a fad. It’s the real thing. They’re not going to take no for an answer and if they have to compete against boys, they’re going to compete against boys, but I think they’re just asking for that opportunity to wrestle against girls.”
Sydney and Jessika wanted to ask for that opportunity publicly which lead to this video being posted on the Trego Wrestling Facebook and Twitter pages a few weeks ago:
“Girls are just asking for an opportunity for KSHSAA to recognize what they’re doing. Watching the passion that the girls had at the girls championships in McPherson … they deserve an opportunity to compete against girls. It was amazing to watch it and it opened my eyes to what it really is,” Sampson said.
The outreach to KSHSAA to sanction girls wrestling in the state of Kansas has not fallen on deaf ears. Mark Lentz, the KSHSAA assistant director in charge of wrestling, was in attendance at the girls state tournament in McPherson.
“It’s nice to see people interested in participating and growing the sport,” Lentz said. “I personally went out and watched the unsanctioned state event that they had in McPherson. I wanted to see the participation and interaction. I think there are some real positives from it.”
For a sport to get sanctioned by KSHSAA, the group of individuals and/or schools would need to get the support of member schools of the association. After that, they will go through the Kansas Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association and the Kansas Coaches Association to bring that to the board of the KSHSAA. The board makes the decision as to whether it will sanction postseason for females.
Kretzer presented to the board last year, but the proposal did not pass. However, there will be another proposal this spring.
“They gave some good ideas and thoughts last year,” said Lentz, who is an administrator and not on the board. “They’ve shown growth, so we’ll see what the board decides this time. I don’t think you ever shut the door to it at all.”
While high school girl’s wrestling is still unsanctioned currently for postseason, the growth is undeniable and having a sanctioned postseason event becomes more of a possibility as the participation numbers continue to climb.
It’s uncertain when and if it will be sanctioned but one thing is for sure — the girls and coaches that support them will continue to pave the way for the girls coming in after them and keep fighting for the opportunity to wrestle other girls.
“I asked, ‘Which of you girls are willing to go out there and fight for all the girls both before and after you?,’ ” Kretzer said. “Girls are powerful … they’re motivated. There’s a place for everyone in the sport of wrestling.”
MANHATTAN —From the Land of Kansas, the state’s agriculture trademark program within the Kansas Department of Agriculture, celebrated its 40th anniversary in January, and rolled out a new membership structure to make more benefits available to members. The trademark program works to promote and support the farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses that grow, raise, process or manufacture products in Kansas.
The new membership structure offers a la carte options for members to choose from, in place of investing in a membership level with prescribed benefits. This allows members to invest in the benefit options that will most help them succeed. Highlights of the new a la carte options include the following:
Opportunities with Chef Alli, From the Land of Kansas brand ambassador, including Facebook Live events and TV segments on WIBW
Online marketing options such as special event e-blasts, and social media promotions and strategy development
Assistance with design of logos, invoices, etc.
Opportunities to sell and sample product in pop-up stores at events
Benefits offered through partnerships with Kansas Value Added Food Lab and Meats Program and with the Center for Rural Enterprise Engagement
Tradeshow Assistance Program
Details on each of these benefits, as well as a complete list of the membership benefit options, can be found at FromtheLandofKansas.com/benefits. The changes to the trademark program help KDA work toward its mission to help make Kansas businesses more successful, grow rural communities and expand markets for Kansas agricultural products. For more information about the new structure, contact Janelle Dobbins, From the Land of Kansas marketing manager, at 785-564-6759 or [email protected].
To learn more about From the Land of Kansas, or to find local Kansas food, products or services, visit FromtheLandofKansas.com. Products from members can be found in many stores across the state by looking for the From the Land of Kansas logo or at shop.fromthelandofkansas.com. Follow the program on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
Kelly R. (Deiter) Riemann, beloved daughter of Paul and Patricia (Beck) Deiter, was born at Vandenberg AFB in California on March 30, 1964, and passed away at her home in Lake Ozarks, Missouri on March 6, 2018, at the age of 53.
Kelly attended school in Des Moines, Iowa and Colorado Springs, Colorado. She graduated from Doherty High School in 1982 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Kelly went on to attend Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas receiving her Bachelor’s of Science In Education Degree. She taught in Derby, Kansas before teaching middle school reading at Lansing Middle School in Lansing, Kansas for 18 years. She was married to Kevin Riemann and to this union four wonderful children were born; Daniel Lee Riemann, Alex Thomas Riemann, Wesley Grant Riemann, and Leah Reagan Riemann. Kelly retired from teaching and moved to Norton, Kansas where she married the love of her life, Jim Richeson. Kelly and Jim lived in Norton for 5 years before moving to Lake Ozark, Missouri.
Kelly was a very kind hearted woman. She was passionate and active in the Just Say No Club and Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Kelly enjoyed traveling with her husband, Jim to Herman, Missouri, shopping, going out to eat, and spending time with those she loved the most. Her greatest love was her family, especially her husband, children and grandchild.
Survivors include: her husband, Jim, of their home; mother, Patricia Deiter, Lansing, KS; three children; Alex Riemann, Lawrence, KS; Wesley Riemann, Lansing, KS; Leah Cook, Lansing, KS; cherished niece, Katie Smith, Kansas City, MO; one grandchild, Sydney Riemann; several nieces and nephews; numerous other relatives and friends.
Kelly was preceded in death by her father, Paul Deiter; one son, Daniel Lee Riemann; and sister, Jody Smith.
FUNERAL SERVICE – Monday, March 12, 2018 – 2:00 P.M.
PRATT – The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) was recently recognized by the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) for the department’s management of public lands. Recognition came in the form of a national land stewardship award, which was accepted by Keith Sexson, KDWPT Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Boating, during the 42nd annual NWTF Convention and Sport Show.
“From their staff to their habitat and wildlife conservation projects, the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism is leading the way in collaborative endeavors,” said Becky Humphries, NWTF CEO. “We are proud to partner with such a dedicated agency to put boots on the ground to ‘Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt.’”
NWTF determined this year’s award winners based on how their work strengthens the organization’s new “Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt.” initiative. KDWPT was selected for the Land Stewardship award because of the department’s efforts to provide quality habitat and hunting experiences, despite the challenges of being a state that is almost entirely privately-owned.
“The work that our Public Lands staff and Wildlife staff are doing to make opportunities possible for our hunters in this state is just really impressive,” said Sexson. “And we’re happy to partner with organizations like NWTF because we know we can’t do it alone.”
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — An expert on voter fraud says voter confusion and clerical errors likely led to a “handful” of noncitizens successfully registering to vote Kansas.
Lorraine Minnite, a professor of political science at Rutgers University
Lorraine Minnite, a professor of political science at Rutgers University, testified Friday in the trial for a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging a law requiring people to provide documents verifying citizenship when registering.
Minnite believes voter fraud is rare in the United States. She said her research on the subject didn’t support Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s public assertions that noncitizens registering to vote is a pervasive problem in the country.
Earlier Friday, Brian Caskey, director of elections in Kobach’s office, testified that he wasn’t sure if the office had notified all suspended voters that they could vote in elections.
The certified public accounting firm of Adams, Brown, Beran & Ball, Chartered (ABBB) is pleased to announce that Zachary “Zach” Binder has earned his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation.
“We congratulate Zach on this accomplishment. It is a milestone for accounting professionals,” said Brian Staats, CPA, CGMA, managing partner of ABBB. “I am confident that Zach will effectively use his CPA designation to grow as a professional and continue delivering significant value to our clients.”
Binder began his career at ABBB in 2016 as an intern. He currently serves as a staff accountant and an internship site coordinator in the Hays office. Binder graduated cum laude from Fort Hays State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. When away from the office, he enjoys watching and playing sports, spending time with friends and family, and investing. Binder currently resides in Hays, Kansas.
ABOUT ABBB
Adams, Brown, Beran & Ball, Chartered provides a wide range of traditional and non-traditional CPA and consulting services to clients throughout Kansas, including agriculture organizations, construction companies, feed yards, financial institutions, governmental and not-for-profit organizations, manufacturers, medical practices, oil and gas companies, professional service firms, real estate companies and small businesses. Founded in 1945, today the firm maintains 15 office locations throughout the state. For more information about Adams, Brown, Beran & Ball, please visit www.abbb.com.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Devonte Graham ripped off the shooting sleeve he was wearing and tossed it into the crowd, then took the two-time Big 12 defensive player of the year baseline for a pullup jumper.
Talk about unflappable.
Unstoppable, too.
The league’s player of the year finished with 18 points and 13 assists, most of them during the decisive second half, and Graham led ninth-ranked Kansas to an 81-70 victory over Jevon Carter and No. 18 West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament championship game Saturday night.
Malik Newman added 20 points on his way to tournament MVP, and freshman Silvio De Sousa had 16 points on 8-for-8 shooting in place of injured big man Udoka Azubuike, lifting the Jayhawks (27-7) to their 11th tournament title and a likely No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
It was the second time in three years they’ve beaten West Virginia (24-10) for the championship.
“We just locked on and starting plays and kept competing, and it was just fun. It was fun to be out there,” Graham said with a smile. “It helped that we were able to make shots.”
Modest understatement there. The Jayhawks shot 72 percent from the field in the second half, and 56 percent for the game, while going 15 of 27 from beyond the 3-point arc.
“They have a lot of guys who can make shots,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “Let’s be honest, all of those guys out there, if they’re not McDonald’s All-Americans it’s because they’re from another country. They have good players and their guy can coach, you know?”
Daxter Miles Jr. hit five 3s and had 25 points to lead West Virginia, which has lost the last three Big 12 title games. Sagaba Konate added 18 points while Carter, the best defender in the league, finished with 17 points and nine assists.
West Virginia still has not won a postseason league tournament since the Big East in 2010.
“They just did a real good job of knocking down shots,” Carter said. “Seemed like every shot they put up, it went in. When we went cold, they kept hitting.”
The Mountaineers controlled most of the first half, picking and choosing when to employ their full-court press. And they caught a break when Mykhailiuk and Mitch Lightfoot picked up two fouls apiece, allowing Konate to score nearly at will in the paint.
Then the Mountaineers’ big fella picked up his second foul and took a seat on the bench.
The Jayhawks roared back to briefly tie the game, and trailed 34-33 at the break after De Sousa threw down an alley-oop dunk in transition in the closing seconds of the first half.
One of the hallmarks of Kansas over the years, especially under Bill Self, has been tenacious half-court defense — and the Mountaineers shredded it early in the second half. They scored their first eight possessions, and Miles’ layup gave them their biggest lead at 51-43 with 15:08 left.
From there, the game turned into a back-and-forth prizefight: Kansas scored 10 straight, West Virginia answered with eight in a row and the Jayhawks responded with 10 more.
“They got control of the game. We made a run. They got control in the second half, we made a run,” Self said, “and that was the difference. When they had a chance to distance themselves we got back in it, and we played almost flawless down the stretch.”
The Jayhawks’ last run was part of a larger 17-3 charge to finally take control.
Graham capped it with his fadeaway baseline jumper over Carter — after shedding a bit of clothes — and a 3-pointer from the wing that made it 73-66 with 3:49 to go.
West Virginia got it to 76-70 on Carter’s two free throws moments later, but Miles missed a 3-pointer and Carter missed a circus-style layup, then turned the ball over with a minute left.
That allowed the Jayhawks to seal their latest Big 12 championship from the foul line.
“We had open shots, didn’t make them. They had contested shots, made them,” Huggins said. “If they can do that for three weeks, they could win a national championship.”
MORE ON DOKE
Azubuike will be evaluated again Sunday, and Self expressed hope that he would be ready for the Jayhawks’ NCAA Tournament opener. The 7-foot sophomore hurt a ligament in his left knee during practice Tuesday, but he appeared to be moving well with a brace on before the game.
BIG PICTURE
West Virginia will be happy to play someone other than Kansas in the NCAA Tournament. Not only have the Mountaineers struggled against the Jayhawks in Kansas City, they were swept in the regular season — blowing a big second-half lead during the game in Lawrence.
Kansas got a big lift from De Sousa, who joined the team after graduating from high school in December. The 6-foot-9 forward grew by leaps and bounds during his time at Sprint Center, making the Jayhawks an even scarier proposition in next week’s NCAA Tournament.
UP NEXT
West Virginia and Kansas head home to rest before Selection Sunday. The Big 12 could get anywhere from five to nine teams into the dance, with the Jayhawks a likely No. 1 seed.
The Polsinelli law firm said this week it will work with immigration lawyer Rekha Sharma-Crawford to secure the release of Syed Ahmed Jamal, who was arrested in January and nearly deported after living in Kansas more than 30 years. He lived with his wife and three children in Lawrence.
Jamal remains jailed in Platte County, Missouri. He was returned there nearly a month ago after attorneys secured a court order to remove him from a plane in Hawaii that was flying him back to Bangladesh.
An attorney at Polsinelli’s, Alan Anderson, is Jamal’s neighbor.
Jamal’s case is being reviewed by the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals and federal courts in Washington, D.C.
SHAWNEE COUNTY — A Kansas man died in an accident Saturday morning in Shawnee County.
Just before 10:30 a.m., the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office, Soldier Township Fire and AMR responded to the scene of a farm implement related accident at 1800 block of NW 38th Street, according to Sheriff Herman Jones. Upon arrival a farm tractor was discovered to be on fire.
The operator of the tractor was deceased upon arrival of emergency personal. The Sheriff did not release the name of the victim.
HUTCHINSON, Kan.-TMP led for two minutes and 50 seconds of the first quarter but would not lead again in their 66-52 loss to Haven in the third place game of the 3A State Tournament in Hutchinson. The Lady Monarchs trailed 13-11 after the first quarter and 28-17 at the half. Haven shot lights out from three point range in the first half, 67%.
TMP would have an answer in the third quarter as they would cut the lead to three points a couple of times thanks to a pair of Aubrey Koenigsman three pointers. Despite the threes and double digit scoring from Kayla Vitztum TMP still trailed 42-37 after three quarters. TMP battled hard in the fourth quarter but they couldn’t hold Haven down.
Vitztum led the Lady Monarchs with 29 points and Koenigsman added 11. TMP finishes the season at 21-4 and fourth in Class 3A.
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