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Minutes for SB49 - Committee on Education
Short Title
Requiring that each attendance center needs assessment be conducted by the local board of education and include input from board members, teachers, school site councils and school administrators and that board members receive certain state assessment data and identify allocations of money in the school district budget and budget summary.
Minutes Content for Thu, Feb 6, 2025
Chairman Erickson opening the hearing on SB49 by asking the Revisor to give an overview of the bill.
Tamera Lawrence, Assistant Revisor, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, gave the overview. (Attachment 1)
Proponent Testimony:
Mike O'Neal, on behalf of Kansas Policy Institute, explained for over 2 decades, Kansas has had a statute requiring local boards of education to conduct an assessment of the educational needs of each attendance center in the district. Unfortunately, over time, few local school board members even knew of the statute's existence and the statute was virtually ignored. It is arguably the most important function a local board can perform that will advance educational improvement. Targeting the areas of need in the schools is what informs strategic budget decisions. This bill would reinforce the critical role local boards must play in the development of budgets that will move the dial on student outcomes. What is being done now is clearly not working. An emergency in public education must be declared and an "all hands on deck" approach adopted. At the end of the day, though, the buck stops with the locally elected boards. Parents and taxpayers are paying more attention than ever before to what is happening in their local districts. They are aware, or should be, of the disconnect between what taxpayers are paying and what they are getting in return. (Attachment 2)
Proponent Written Testimony:
Ward Cassidy, Executive Director, Kansas School Board Resource Center (Attachment 3)
Opponent Testimony:
Leah Fliter, Assistant Executive Director of Advocacy and Governmental Relations, Kansas Association of School Boards, explained this KASB testimony is grounded on the member approved legislative platform. We respectfully observe that the needs assessment statute is settled law, so this bill is irrelevant. The building needs assessment process looks vastly different across the 286 Kansas school districts. The largest districts have 20 or more schools, while the smallest education all students in a single building. They're united, however, in their dedication to ensuring every Kansas child has the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in careers, college, and life. We invite the committee and all Kansas legislators to check in with their local public schools to learn how they budget to address local needs. We believe you'll see that solutions for student success are most effective when they begin at the local level rather than a top-down mandate. (Attachment 4)
Jim Karleskint, United School Administrators, stated Kansas is a local control state and nearly all the provisions in this legislation deals with local control and is already in statute. The school districts I am familiar with already comply which the items listed in the legislation. We acknowledge the building needs assessment is an important piece of school improvement, and that expenditures should be reflective on the outcome of the needs assessment. Local boards make sound decisions to assess student needs and budget for increased student achievement without the interference of the measures in this bill. (Attachment 5)
Mary F. Sinclair, PhD, Kansas PTA Advocacy Team, said Kansas PTA finds this bill interferes with the interests and local control of freely elected school boards. The first legislative priority of the Kansas PTA Legislative Platform includes acknowledgment of local control. Kansas PTA supports efforts to preserve the wisdom of the Kansas Constitution. The oversight of public funds used for preK-12 public education are in the hands of eligible Kansas voters. The Kansas PTA encourages committee members and all Kansas legislators to check in with their local public schools to learn more about the extensive needs assessment process and how buildings and districts budget to address local needs. (Attachment 6)
Opponent Written Testimony:
Addi Lowell, Chief Financial Officer, USD 259, Wichita Public Schools (Attachment 7)
Dr. Michael Schumacher, Superintendent, Shawnee Mission School District (Attachment 8)
Dr. Brent Yeager, Superintendent, Olathe Public Schools (Attachment 9)
Cathy Hopkins and Danny Zeck, Liaisons, Kansas State Board of Education (Attachment 10)
Discussion followed.
The Chair closed the hearing on SB49.
