Brief(1)
H.B. 2061 concerns funding for community colleges. The amendments do two things:
Background
H.B. 2061 was introduced by the House Education Committee at the request of the State Board of Education. Currently, the 2.0 multiple is applicable in the following community colleges which have been designated by the State Board of Education as an area vocational school or have had vocational programs transferred to them under an agreement with an area vocational school or vocational-technical school--Cowley County, Pratt, Dodge City, Hutchinson, and Johnson County. In the remaining 14 community colleges, a 1.5 multiple applies. So, in FY 1999, the academic credit hour state aid rate is $32.82 and the vocational rate is $65.64 at five community colleges and $49.23 at 14 of them.
According to staff of the State Department of Education, the additional 0.5 funding for vocational credit hours will amount to a little more than $16 per credit hour for approved vocational education courses at 14 community colleges. The total estimated cost of this change in FY 2000 is about $3.34 million.
At hearings conducted by the House Education Committee, a member of the State Board of Education and the President of Fort Scott Community College presented testimony in favor of the bill. There were no opponents.
The bill was amended by the House Committee of the Whole to add the provision concerning the offering of community college courses at Fort Riley. The language of the amendment is similar to that contained in another law involving Fort Leavenworth.
1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html.