Dive Brief:
- Two Kansas districts have announced that they will be shut their doors prematurely this May due to a lack of sufficient funds.
- Concordia Unified School District will end the school year six days early (about one-and-a-half school weeks), while Twin Valley Unified School District will slash 12 days (about 2.5 school weeks) from its schedule.
- The lack of funding is being tied to Gov. Sam Brownback's March funding overhaul, which resulted in schools losing a total of $51 million — money that had been slotted for getting through the current school year.
Dive Insight:
Brownback's funding cuts may have precipitated these early summer breaks, but funding issues within the state show this problem has been a long time coming. Between 2008 and 2014, the state's per-pupil funding allowance dropped by $950.
The realities got so bad that, in October, the Kansas Association of School Boards submitted a study that found states with higher public education funding see better outcomes. While Kansas seems to defy odds (it has high test scores despite the meager funding), the report seems to be an attempt to say, "Hey! We need more money."
