Members of the Kansas House of Representatives rejected portions of a bill that would have reduced state aid for some small school districts.
The bill would have pushed six districts with enrollments of fewer than 200 students and fewer than 200 square miles to consolidate. Those districts include Argonia and Attica.
But the bill was amended on a 75-39 vote to remove those provisions. Supporters of the amendment said districts didn’t deserve to be punished financially and were likely to consider consolidating on their own terms.
“We have sent the message to the small schools. I think it’s an effective message,” said Rep. Steve Lukert, a Democrat. “To hit them with the stick again isn’t a good message.”
Under the bill, those smaller districts would have had state aid reduced to the same level as those with 200 students.
But Rep. Bill Light, a Republican, said consolidation should be a local decision by school boards, not mandated by legislators. Kansas last forced hundreds of districts to consolidate in the 1960s, a process that still stirs resentment statewide.
E-Mail
Print
