Wellington school officials say they will be looking at familiar numbers while working out the district’s budget, after the Kansas legislature voted to keep school funds the same as last year.
Each school district is given money per student in the district, which is referred to as state aid per pupil. This year, state aid per pupil was $4,012 and the same amount is planned for next year, Wellington Superintendent Rick Weiss said.
Official notification from the state has yet to be sent by the State Department of Education, he said.
“Hopefully we’ll start out next year with what we ended up with this year, and so we know it will be pretty much the status quo for two years in a row to start out with. Now if the revenues don’t come in like they expect, or anticipate...then that’s when they come back to cut us,” Weiss said. “We hope that doesn’t happen but we saw what happened last year and right now. So similar circumstances could prevail.”
Knowing the base rate per pupil will remain what it was last year is a mixture of relief and frustration.
“Maintain the status quo is much better than getting notification you are going to get cut another $300,000, $400,000, $500,000,” Weiss said. “That’s the best news we could have gotten under the prevailing circumstances. What’s always unfortunate is to look back and see what we legally could have had.”
Weiss says by statute, the state was supposed to provide $4,440 for state aid per pupil with $52 to be added to that. The economic crisis stunted the effort.
“It would have been able to set us up for some good things, but of course, now we are going the other way,” Weiss said.
With the same amount of money slated for next year, Weiss says the district will go on as planned with no major cuts.
“We plan for it as best as we can, but if anything else, if the cuts come deeper next year than it depends on how bad the cuts are on what the schools will have to do,” Weiss said.
Until official word comes from the state, contracts have been renewed for administrators including Assistant Superintendent Jackie Glasgow and principals Larry Roth, Dale Liston, Jerry Hodson, John Walton, Kelly Adams and Adam Hatfield, but salaries have not yet been negotiated, Weiss said.
“Until we know exactly what we have for budget, there probably won’t be any considerations for salary,” he said.
Weiss says though this year will be somewhat of a relief, the stress of more cuts is always around the corner.
With the one-cent sales tax to go in to effect soon, the state is hoping to bring in $300 million but if that should fail, it’s back to the drawing board and the cutting table.
“As of right now it will be anywhere from $800 million to $1 billion the year after that, so that’s the interesting bit of the future that is looking us right in the face,” Weiss said.
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Wellington school officials say they will be looking at familiar numbers while working out the district’s budget, after the Kansas legislature voted to keep school funds the same as last year.
Each school district is given money per student in the district, which is referred to as state aid per pupil. This year, state aid per pupil was $4,012 and the same amount is planned for next year, Wellington Superintendent Rick Weiss said.
Official notification from the state has yet to be sent by the State Department of Education, he said.
“Hopefully we’ll start out next year with what we ended up with this year, and so we know it will be pretty much the status quo for two years in a row to start out with. Now if the revenues don’t come in like they expect, or anticipate...then that’s when they come back to cut us,” Weiss said. “We hope that doesn’t happen but we saw what happened last year and right now. So similar circumstances could prevail.”
Knowing the base rate per pupil will remain what it was last year is a mixture of relief and frustration.
“Maintain the status quo is much better than getting notification you are going to get cut another $300,000, $400,000, $500,000,” Weiss said. “That’s the best news we could have gotten under the prevailing circumstances. What’s always unfortunate is to look back and see what we legally could have had.”
Weiss says by statute, the state was supposed to provide $4,440 for state aid per pupil with $52 to be added to that. The economic crisis stunted the effort.
“It would have been able to set us up for some good things, but of course, now we are going the other way,” Weiss said.
With the same amount of money slated for next year, Weiss says the district will go on as planned with no major cuts.
“We plan for it as best as we can, but if anything else, if the cuts come deeper next year than it depends on how bad the cuts are on what the schools will have to do,” Weiss said.
Until official word comes from the state, contracts have been renewed for administrators including Assistant Superintendent Jackie Glasgow and principals Larry Roth, Dale Liston, Jerry Hodson, John Walton, Kelly Adams and Adam Hatfield, but salaries have not yet been negotiated, Weiss said.
“Until we know exactly what we have for budget, there probably won’t be any considerations for salary,” he said.
Weiss says though this year will be somewhat of a relief, the stress of more cuts is always around the corner.
With the one-cent sales tax to go in to effect soon, the state is hoping to bring in $300 million but if that should fail, it’s back to the drawing board and the cutting table.
“As of right now it will be anywhere from $800 million to $1 billion the year after that, so that’s the interesting bit of the future that is looking us right in the face,” Weiss said.
