Kansas lawmakers, researchers debate how — not just how much — to fund schools

KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas, including Olathe and Lenexa. Share your story idea with Olivia.

—

Kansas schools are preparing for a new academic year as a debate grows over education funding. Matthew Joseph, a senior policy advisor at ExcelinEd, says one potential solution could come from shifting the conversation from how much money schools receive to whether that money is being spent effectively.

That idea is gaining traction on both sides of the aisle at the Kansas Statehouse.

"There's no accountability level to ensure that they are producing students," said Rep. Megan Steele, R-District 51, Pottawatomie County. “I truly believe that funding has to be tied to results.”

"It's not just about funding. We want performance, right?" said Rep. Mari-Lynn Poskin, D-District 20, Johnson County.

While Steele is pushing for greater accountability tied to funding, Poskin says school performance deserves more context.

One commonly cited measure of that performance comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, which found that in 2024, 40% of public school fourth graders in Kansas scored below the basic reading threshold.

Education finance researcher Matthew Joseph says the conversation shouldn't stop at how much schools are given but rather how that money is aligned with strategies that actually improve student outcomes.

"The research really shows us about how you orient that money. Do you align it with your strategy? Do you pay for coaches?" Joseph said. "What do you do to kind of make sure the money is supporting the strategy that a state has to improve? And that's where you get the real return on investment."

KSHB

Joseph also sees enrollment declines — a trend affecting Johnson County schools — as a potential opportunity to make improvements to the system.

"That extra money that's been created because of the decline in enrollment, we're going to reinvest it in something. And that reinvestment is going to take Kansas from whatever ranking to do what Mississippi did and go 10 points higher," Joseph said.

Whether Kansas acts on that approach may become clearer early next year, when the education funding task force is required to present its findings to the full legislature.

This story is part of Shifting Education, an ongoing series examining education funding in Kansas. Previous reporting breaks down how Kansas got to this point and where the funding conversation may go next.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

—