Saying that public education powers the economic engine of Johnson County, a group of five Johnson County school districts and nine chambers of commerce — including Shawnee Mission and the Northeast Johnson County Chamber — on Thursday issued a joint statement of support for a short-term funding plan they believe would avert the shut down of schools.

After meeting throughout the morning, the groups held an afternoon press conference at the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce to reveal their suggested solution to the school funding crisis, encouraging the legislature to fund Local Option Budget equalization at 81.2 percent while including a “hold harmless” provision that would ensure no districts lose expected funding. Such a plan would likely require the legislature allocate approximately $11 to $12 million more for K-12 education to ensure none of the state’s 293 school districts lost money.

Tom Robinett, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce, noted that the joint action of the 14 groups was unprecedented.

“In more than 25 years of my working with legislative issues in Johnson County and the state of Kansas…I really can’t recall another instance where five school districts and nine chambers of commerce came together…” he said. “Maybe using the word historic is a bit of an overstatement, but it’s close.”

Some of the suggested remedies to meet the court’s funding requirements being batted around by lawmakers would put a dent in Johnson County districts’ budgets. Simply reverting back to the old funding formula without including a hold harmless provision would sap $4.8 million from Blue Valley, Shawnee Mission and Olathe.

Asked whether there was concern that the inclusion of a “hold harmless” provision might cause the court to deem the solution unconstitutional, Shawnee Mission Superintendent Jim Hinson argued that such provisions had been part of previous fixes and are integral to ensuring fairness for all districts. The additional money required to fund a hold harmless provision shouldn’t be a deterrent, he said.

“If you do not have a hold harmless provision, you have winners and losers in the process,” he said. “From my perspective, the fix is relatively small in relation to the state budget — $11 to $12 million.”

Blue Valley Superintendent Todd White stressed that the lack of a stable funding environment was hurting Johnson County schools’ ability to attract talented teachers.

“We have applicants that we are offering contracts to, that I believe in previous years would have certainly wanted to come to Johnson County and to Blue Valley Schools, but are now telling us they are unsure if that contract will be valid,” White said. “Will they in fact be able to work and earn a living, pay off their school debts? We have people, honestly, that are suggesting they will go across the state line to work because of the instability that has been created by this conversation.”

The legislature will formally begin work on developing and passing a school funding fix when the special session begins next Wednesday.

The press statement, which includes a list of all participating entities, is embedded below. The Spring Hill School District was the only Johnson County district not to sign on to the statement.

https://dfv6pkw99pxmo.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/17075325/Doc-6-17-16-7-51-AM.pdf