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Published July 02, 2009 11:52 pm - TOPEKA, Kan. — Gov. Mark Parkinson imposed another round of spending cuts Thursday to keep Kansas’ budget balanced, trimming aid to public schools and higher education funding. Kansas: Governor cuts school aid amid budget changes The Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. — Gov. Mark Parkinson imposed another round of spending cuts Thursday to keep Kansas’ budget balanced, trimming aid to public schools and higher education funding. A few of the $160 million in adjustments announced by the Democratic governor will require approval from the Republican-controlled Legislature when it reconvenes in January. But most — including education reductions — take effect immediately under a state law that allows the governor to make cuts to head off a budget shortfall. Some prominent Republican lawmakers questioned whether Parkinson went far enough, but one GOP leader described the governor’s actions as prudent. A deficit loomed on the second day of the state’s 2010 fiscal year because tax collections for the just-ended fiscal year were $126 million short of expectations. The state already sought to cope by delaying tax refunds and payments to school districts from June into July. But paying the delayed bills — and others due in coming weeks — also will require internal borrowing. Parkinson plans to ask legislative leaders Monday for permission to transfer $700 million from various funds into the state’s main bank account to forestall cash crunches in coming months. He didn’t rule out the possibility that the state’s revenues will continue to fall below expectations, requiring even more budget cuts — or even consideration of tax increases next year. “My hope and my optimism is that our revenue numbers will stabilize,” Parkinson said at a news conference. “If the revenue numbers deteriorate further than what we anticipate, everything’s on the table.” The fiscal 2010 budget already contained less spending financed by state tax dollars than the fiscal 2009 budget. House GOP leaders had sought even deeper cuts before legislators finished their work in May, and Appropriations Committee Chairman Kevin Yoder suggested Parkinson was still too optimistic. “I’m just nervous that we haven’t gone far enough,” said Yoder, an Overland Park Republican. “If he gambles and is wrong all the time, it ends up being harder on everyone.” But Senate President Steve Morris endorsed Parkinson’s relatively “gentle” approach. “The situation’s fluid enough, we just have to go one step at a time and evaluate things as we go along, and that’s what he’s doing,” said Morris, a Hugoton Republican. Aid to public schools was a natural target for additional cuts because it consumes more than half of the state’s tax dollars. It already had been reduced before Parkinson sliced an additional $39 million Thursday. Schools have now seen a cut of $163 million, and their base aid has dropped by $215 per student, about 4.8 percent, to $4,218. 
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