2026 KsLeg session: School Funding
- Stand Up Blue Valley
- Apr 25
- 3 min read
How did BV-area KS legislators vote on š³šš»š±š¶š»š“ š½ššÆš¹š¶š° š²š±šš°š®šš¶š¼š» in 2026?
Weāve already shared information from BV Schools about the dire situation the district is facing due to the KS Legislatureās failure to fully fund Special Education (as statutorily required). The funding shortfall has caused the district to pull MILLIONS of dollars from general funds and cash reserves every year since 2011 to meet student needs. This robs EVERY student through class size increases, cuts to programs, and reduction in staff. Special Education excess costs are STILL not funded by the legislature.
š®š¬š®š³ ššš±š“š²š: š¦š½š²š°š¶š®š¹ šš±šš°š®šš¶š¼š» š»š¼š š³šš¹š¹š š³šš»š±š²š± = š£ššÆš¹š¶š° šš°šµš¼š¼š¹š š»š¼š š³šš¹š¹š š³šš»š±š²š±
Yet, again this year, š©šš š£šš¬ šØš©šš©š ššŖšššš© š„ššØšØšš šš® ššØššš šš¤ššØ ššš ššŖš”š”š® ššŖš£š šššššØšØ šš„ššššš” šššŖššš©šš¤š£ šš¤šØš©šØ. Result: Blue Valley Schools (and districts across the state) will be forced to continue pulling money from the general fund to cover the shortfall. When you hear legislators say they āvoted to fully fund public schools,ā that statement refers to the per-pupil funding that the KS Supreme Court REQUIRED KsLeg to provide - the result of a years-long lawsuit (Gannon). But when per-pupil funds (that should go to classroom teachers, programs like art and music, world language, athletics) must be diverted to cover excess cost to educate students needing Special Education services, it results in lower per-pupil amounts to EVERY student. In BV, that amounts to $16 MILLION in 2025-26.
Voting YES, for a state budget that does NOT fully fund public education:Ā
Representatives Croft, VanHouden, Tarwater, Turner
Senators Warren, Rose
Voting NO on the budget bill, opposing continued underfunding of KS public schools:
Representatives Featherston, Poskin, Meyer, Osman, McDonald
Senator Holscher
On top of DENYING needed funding, ššµš² š¹š²š“š¶šš¹š®šššæš² š®š“š®š¶š» šš¼šš²š± š³š¼šæ šš®š šŗš¼š»š²š š“š¶šš²š®šš®šš šš¼ š½šæš¶šš®šš², š²š š°š¹ššš¶šš² šš°šµš¼š¼š¹š. Private schools: NOT required to take any student; NOT required to publish student outcomes; allowed to reject or remove any student for ANY reason; often teach religious doctrine; may be for-profit; NOT subject to any oversight from their community (no School Board), Kansas taxpayers, or the state. Link at bottom to our Blog posts on this subject.
šš²š±š²šæš®š¹ š§š®š šŗš¼š»š²š šš¼ š½šæš¶šš®šš² šš°šµš¼š¼š¹šĀ
The legislature voted to participate in a federal tax diversion scheme like the one Kansas already has - where a taxpayer gets a tax CREDIT for ādonatingā money (that they would have otherwise paid as taxes) to a āScholarship Granting Organizationā (aka money-laundering organization) that takes a cut off the top and then hands it over to a private school - maybe a for-profit and/or religious private school. The bill was vetoed by Gov. Kelly but the Republican supermajority was able to override.
Voting YES to hand over EVEN MORE tax money to private schools with ZERO accountability for student outcomes:
Representatives Croft, VanHouden, Tarwater, Turner
Senators Warren, Rose
Voting NO, tax money should pay for public schools:
Representatives Featherston, Poskin, Meyer, Osman, McDonald
Senator Holscher
š¦šš®šš² š§š®š šŗš¼š»š²š šš¼ š½šæš¶šš®šš² šš°šµš¼š¼š¹šĀ
Kansas already allows taxpayers to divert tax money to private schools to the tune of $10 million yearly, and there was an attempt to increase that cap to $15 million. The bill passed but was vetoed by Gov. Kelly. KsLeg didnāt have the votes to override her veto.
Voting YES, to increase the cap on tax money diversion to private schools:
Representatives Croft, VanHouden, Tarwater, Turner
Senators Warren, Rose
Voting NO, because tax money should go to public institutions that are transparent in how those dollars are being spent:
Representatives Featherston, Poskin, Meyer, Osman, McDonald
Senator Holscher
Most Blue Valley voters know the value of our outstanding public schools, and support funding them. Many are shocked to learn that some KS legislators from our own Blue Valley area consistently vote against funding our schools adequately, and vote to divert taxpayer money instead to fund private schools.
Share this post to help your neighbors know how their elected representatives are voting.
Links to read more about budget:
Federal tax diversion bill:
State tax diversion bills:
SUBV Blog post about tax credit scholarship/private school handouts:
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