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tiny-k FUNDING UPDATE:     April 15, 2002 - Happy Tax Day!
Doug Bowman, Coordinator

On Saturday, the Legislature recessed to resume May 1st, with much significant work to do.

Conference committees will likely work over the break. For instance, the budget conference will resolve differences in the two versions passed by the House & Senate starting April 23rd. At this time, there is a little at stake in the issues we watch. Both versions maintain spending of tobacco funds at current levels (half million for Infant-Toddler & one quarter for Healthy Start). Long term security for the Endowment looks OK, but they aren’t finished tinkering.

There are a few other notable differences. The House spends some of the tobacco funds for immunization outreach ($750,000), children’s services in Mental Health Centers ($2 million), and family preservation ($375,000). The Senate does not. Also, the Senate would cut SRS issued child care grants by just under $3 million. The House does not make this cut.

State funding for Parents as Teachers will fall slightly. I don’t believe that this will be too problematic. With our challenges in school finance, many schools will probably cut back on PAT - trying to save local matching dollars. Funding for schools is level in the Senate position and increases $10 per child in the House. Increases in insurance, salaries, and other basic educational expenses will force most local school boards to make some very tough cuts. We also expect cuts in CDDO grants from Topeka.

Both budgets are currently "in the red". Further cuts or tax increases will have to happen sometime. There exists a "pretty good" ($335 million) Senate tax package that has come out of committee, but hasn’t seen any floor action yet.

So what can we do? Try to catch your policy-makers while they are home for the break. Educate them on the real impact of their decisions. There has been a little interest expressed by important House members to consider a small increase in tobacco funds designated for Infant-Toddler. We should try to leverage that interest into meaningful action. By now, you’ve seen what level-funding will mean for your network (16 out of 37 lose money). This might inch upward with more federal funds, but we can’t guarantee it. The way Kansas uses its tobacco funds is still being debated.

If you want more details, please contact me by phone or by e-mail. See you in Salina soon.