Kansas: Governor says lawsuit threat not being considered

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November 17, 2009

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Tue Nov 17, 2009, 10:44 PM CST

The Associated Press

TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas’ governor said Tuesday that the threat of a lawsuit over education funding won’t influence the spending cuts he’ll make to keep the current state budget in balance.

Gov. Mark Parkinson plans to announce next week how he’ll make nearly $260 million in cuts and other budget adjustments. The changes are designed to prevent a deficit when the state’s 2010 fiscal year ends June 30.

Some of Kansas’ 293 school districts already are contemplating suing the state because it has backed off previous commitments to increase aid to schools each year.

And Parkinson’s budget-balancing measures are likely to include further reductions in education funding. School aid consumes more than half the state’s general tax revenues, and Parkinson can’t impose a tax increase without approval from legislators, who don’t reconvene until January.

“My immediate responsibility is to balance the 2010 budget,” Parkinson said during a news conference. “The threat of a lawsuit from any particular recipient of funds is not affecting the decisions that we make.”

Legislators enacted a law in 2006 that promised continuing increases in aid to schools. It was a response to Kansas Supreme Court decisions that said the state had failed to live up to its responsibility under its own constitution to provide a suitable education for every child.

“It certainly doesn’t appear that anybody is looking at their constitutional responsibilities,” said Alan Rupe, of Wichita, the lead attorney in the lawsuit that led to the Supreme Court orders.

Kansas already has had four rounds of budget cuts and other adjustments to keep its budget balanced, with Parkinson imposing revisions himself in July.

Public schools have lost $130 million, and their base state aid has dropped $215 per student, or about 4.8 percent.

Earlier this month, officials issued a new forecast saying the state won’t collect the $5.6 billion in general tax revenues it needs to sustain the revised budget.

“We are past the point of there being any easy decisions,” Parkinson said. “We are now cutting into the bone of government services.”

Rupe, some educators and some of Parkinson’s fellow Democrats argue that state revenues also are pinched because of tax breaks granted, mostly to businesses, in previous years.

“If they’d been fiscally responsible throughout that period of time, we would not have been left in the situation that we’re in,” Rupe said.

A similar argument is being made by some social service advocates, who are hoping to build support for revenue-raising measures next year.

State officials expect the state’s budget problems to linger and already expect to face a budget shortfall for fiscal 2011. But many members of the Republican-controlled Legislature see little support for raising taxes, even in the form of eliminating past tax breaks.

“The shortsighted approach is: Let’s raise taxes right now, give it to state agencies and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Kevin Yoder, an Overland Park Republican. “The long-term view is: Let’s bite the bullet, ratchet down spending, get through the recession and be economically stronger for it.”

Parkinson hasn’t ruled out a tax increase, but he said Tuesday: “I am completely focused on the 2010 budget. Right now, I’m not focused on 2011.”

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State News

2.6 magnitude earthquake recorded in Oklahoma
The U.S. Geological Survey has recorded a 2.6 magnitude earthquake near Wellston in central Oklahoma.
No injuries or damage is reported.

January 19, 2011
Audit: $108,000 taken from Missouri Veterans Commission JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A former employee of the state auditor’s office embezzled nearly $108,000 while working as an accountant for the Missouri Veterans Commission, the state auditor alleged Monday.

Stacy Griffin-Lowery was fired by the Veterans Commission in March 2008 and pleaded guilty three months later to a misdemeanor theft charge. She repaid the state $17,665, the auditor’s office said.

But Missouri Auditor Susan Montee on Monday accused Griffin-Lowery of swiping an additional $90,192 by getting reimbursed for cash advances and purchases made on her personal credit card.
April 12, 2010
Race in Kansas’ 2nd District could heat up for GOP incumbent TOPEKA, Kan. — A conservative Kansas legislator said Monday he will announce in a few weeks whether he will challenge freshman U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins in the Republican primary.

State Sen. Dennis Pyle’s actions in recent months suggest the Hiawatha farmer, who’s served in the Legislature since 2001, is running against Jenkins in the Aug. 2 primary. He set up a campaign organization in November and has a Web site featuring a brief video of him on his farm, asking viewers for support.
April 12, 2010
Oklahoma tea party leaders, lawmakers envision militia OKLAHOMA CITY — Frustrated by recent political setbacks, tea party leaders and some conservative members of the Oklahoma Legislature say they would like to create a new volunteer militia to help defend against what they believe are improper federal infringements on state sovereignty.

Tea party movement leaders say they’ve discussed the idea with several supportive lawmakers and hope to get legislation next year to recognize a new volunteer force
April 12, 2010
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April 8, 2010
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April 8, 2010
Oklahoma: Groups oppose education spending initiative OKLAHOMA CITY — A coalition of business and labor groups said Thursday it will work to defeat a ballot initiative to dramatically increase spending on public education that coalition members said would devastate the budgets of many other state services and possibly force tax increases.
April 8, 2010
Missouri: Gov. Nixon affirms support for tuition freeze COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has no plans to sit idly while lawmakers consider whether to preserve a tuition freeze deal he assembled before the state’s dire financial status was fully known.
April 7, 2010
Kansas: Agency uses YouTube to illustrate road woes TOPEKA, Kan. — It’s one thing to hear about potholes and state budgets. It’s another to see how the two are connected. That’s part of the thinking behind a new video presentation on YouTube this week from the Kansas Department of Transportation.
April 7, 2010
Oklahoma: Pathologist says girl’s throat might have been cut OKLAHOMA CITY — A 7-year-old girl who was found dead in Oklahoma near the body of her suspected kidnapper likely died after her throat was cut, an independent pathologist said Wednesday, the same day the child’s funeral attracted hundreds of mourners.
April 7, 2010
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Kansas: Governor says lawsuit threat not being considered

Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr wants the city to distribute weather radios to all Joplin homes that don’t have one. That’s 11,000 radios. Do you think that’s a good use of $300,440?

Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr wants the city to distribute weather radios to all Joplin homes that don’t have one. That’s 11,000 radios. Do you think that’s a good use of $300,440?

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