Action Needed: Email Legislators This Weekend
- Stand Up Blue Valley
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Budget cuts are coming to Blue Valley - unless the Kansas Legislature fully funds Special Education.
This weekend we’re urging our members to email ALL Blue Valley-area legislators to ask for their support in fully funding our neighborhood schools, by fully funding excess Special Education costs.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻 if KsLeg does NOT fund SpEd?
BV Schools has recently announced that it will have to 𝗰𝘂𝘁 $𝟭𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 from the 2026-27 budget unless SpEd is fully funded.
Possible impacts include:
Teacher and staff salary cuts (affects recruitment and retention)
Teacher and staff numbers cuts (increased class sizes, fewer specials)
Program cuts (in the past, cuts to music programs, middle and high school electives and specials, have occurred)
Cuts to athletic programs and activities
Why?
Most school districts across Kansas, including BV, are facing declining enrollment due to lower birth rates and migration trends. This declining enrollment means cuts in per-pupil funding. But the district’s fixed costs (transportation, insurance, utilities for example) aren’t decreased significantly by lower pupil numbers.
At the same time enrollment is trending down, Blue Valley continues to see an increase in the number of SpEd students and associated costs. The district has been using reserve funds (which come from general operating funds) to cover the SpEd deficit, but reserves are now too low to do that.
𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙁𝙐𝙇𝙇𝙔 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙥𝙀𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙗𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚.
Remember that K-12 education in Kansas is funded on a per-pupil basis. Since this year’s 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱-𝗳𝗼𝗿 (projected) statewide enrollment exceeded 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 K-12 enrollment, there is now $250 million left in the 2025-26 K-12 education budget. These funds are already earmarked for K-12, but will not be used on per-pupil base state aid. The 2026-27 budget has $350 million excess.
The solution is simple. Legislators can leave that money in the K-12 education budget and use it to cover excess SpEd costs, which across the state are projected to be $260 million in 2026-27. But legislators must agree to apply the excess funds to SpEd.
Federal law requires public schools to provide Special Education for students with disabilities. This funding category cannot be cut - even if there is a budget deficit. Special Education makes up 20-25% of the operating budget in Blue Valley - $80 million this year. Kansas law provisions that the state will fund 92% of the excess SpEd cost - but they are falling far short. 𝗜𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱-𝟮𝟲, 𝗕𝗩 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 $𝟭𝟲 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗘𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴.
The need to fund SpEd is a BIG problem that all KS districts are facing - especially districts with high SpEd student populations like Blue Valley. BUT…**The Money Is Already There.** No tax increase needed. No pulling funds from somewhere else. 𝗞𝘀𝗟𝗲𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗞-𝟭𝟮 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘄.
𝙒𝙚 𝙪𝙧𝙜𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝘽𝙡𝙪𝙚 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮-𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙖 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 92% 𝙤𝙛 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙀𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚. 𝙃𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙠𝙞𝙙𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙤𝙤.
Personalize your email by describing how fully-funded schools (or lack thereof) impact you, your family and your students. Did you move here for the schools? Are lower class sizes a priority for you? Is recruitment and retention of top teaching staff important? Does your student benefit from specials classes, gifted education, or athletic programs?
For voters who don’t currently have kids in BV Schools: Do you feel that the quality of the schools affects your property values? Do people in your line of work choose to locate here based on BV Schools? Do you support competitive pay and benefits for teachers and staff?
Let our BV-area legislators know that 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞-𝟭𝟮 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 and is an easy win-win for them to support.
Below are the email addresses for the Blue Valley-area Kansas legislators. Each voter has one KS Senate member and one KS Representative. But 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚, 𝙬𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝘼𝙇𝙇 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 - 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝘽𝙑 𝙫𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡.
Copy and paste the whole block into the “TO” section of your email. Subject line could be “I support fully funding Special Education” for example. Sign with your full name, address, and “Blue Valley voter.”
Information for this post comes from the Jan. 12, 2026 Board of Education meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmkUITjH8AI
Budget presentation by Chief Financial Officer Jeremy McFadden starts at 47:00. The entire presentation, along with BOE member Q and A, is valuable information.
