October 27, 2026

By Charlotte O’Hara, former JoCo Commissioner and former Kansas Rep. 27^th District

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Here we are!  We have arrived!!

The Kansas Equity and Enhancement Act, our school finance formula, expires July 1, 2027. 

This means school finance should be on the minds of everyone: parents, teachers, legislators and especially EVERY Taxpayer. How are we going to pay for educating our children in our public schools? But are our children receiving an education by attending our state schools? 

This is a very serious question and in my opinion our schools have failed our children miserably. In 2024 our state assessment tests showed only 22% of 8^th graders proficient in reading and 24% proficient in math.  

What was the Kansas State Board of Education’s response?  They voted to lower standards by re-norming the tests.  The result was in 2025 miraculously the 8^th graders’ assessment in reading proficiency increased by 24-points to 46% and in math an 18-point increase to 42% proficiency.  Wow, proficiency in reading more than doubled and in math the scores increased by 75%. To me this is blatant fraud and educational malpractice!! Graphs and details can be found in Kansas Policy Institute’s article: https://kansaspolicy.org/state-board-of-ed-reduces-proficiency-standards/

But back to the funding issue.  First the size of the problem.  Currently approximately 58% of the total State General Fund goes to K-12 education, or $6.16 BILLION. Local option budgets, bond funds and Capital Outlay funds all financed by our property taxes are another approximately $2 billion. Including federal funds, the total in 2024-2025 school year was $8.65 billion according to the Kansas Policy Institute. https://kansaspolicy.org/2025-school-funding-cash-enrollment-hires/

The Kansas School Funding formula is one complicated cobbled up mess which has devolved into monetizing our children. Here are the 11 categories in which school districts harvest more state aid:

•  At-risk students; Typically those students who qualify for free meals and or Academic – insufficient skill mastery, Behavioral – absentees, suspensions, expulsions or persistent disciplinary infractions and Social and Environmental – Homeless, migrant families, foster care or DCF care, pregnancy, high mobility and juvenile justice involvement.

•  High-density at-risk students;

•  Bilingual students;

•  Low enrollment;

•  High enrollment;

•  New school facilities;

•  Ancillary school facilities;

•  Cost-of-living;

•  Career technical education;

•  Special education; (which include gifted programs)

•  Transportation.

And then we have the strings attached because we take federal education funds which require adhering to guidelines like No Child Left Behind (Common Core) to Every Student Succeeds Act (Social Emotional Learning) both of which have been spectacular failures. 

So how much are we receiving from the feds? Currently 11.6% of total funding comes from the feds and there is a mountain of paperwork/paper shuffling required to access these funds. Plus, we sell our right to determine how to educate our children. 

I don’t pretend to have all the answers and the truth of the matter is whatever our legislators cobble up as a new funding formula will be challenged in court. Ultimately our extremely liberal Kansas State Supreme Court will weigh in with their “legal” (please read political) opinion.

So, what to do?  Here are my broad-brush suggestions: 1.Stop taking federal funds and declare our “Educational Independence”. 2.Decouple gifted programs from Special Ed. 3.Block grants for state money to districts instead of monetizing our children. 4.Throw out the computers, the cost has been astronomical and results dismal. 5.Parental opt in for every program. 6.Require cursive, phonics and real math (throw out Common Core math). 7.Close the State Department of Education – obviously an abject failure in educating our children and put all curriculum decisions at the local level. 8.Any school district who does not veto (block) Tax Increment Finance Districts (TIFs) within the bounds of their school district will be penalized equivalent amount of funds diverted from their property tax by the TIF.  And that amount will be deducted from their block grant. 

Buckle up for a contentious fight over how to fund our schools and most of all, put a padlock on your bank account, because the bottom line will be funded by you and me. And I am sure that 58% of the General Fund and over 50% of our local property taxes just is not enough to satisfy this BEAST!!

God Bless and Keep Your Eyes on Jesus,

Charlotte