Testimony before the

House Appropriations Committee

Representative Yoder, chair
by
Gene Johnson, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Shawnee Mission School District
August 25, 2009

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee:

Thank you for inviting me to share information on behalf of the Shawnee Mission
School District, its students and staff, and the community it serves. Our school district
has worked hard to balance an understanding of the unprecedented economic challenges
faced by our state and nation with the needs of our school district to provide the finest
educational programs and services to ensure our students succeed academically. We
have a well-earned reputation for careful budgeting and honoring our responsibility as
stewards of our taxpayers dollars. It is through this careful approach to budgeting that
we have been able to maintain our operations despite state funding reductions, delayed
payments, and other budgetary challenges.
The Shawnee Mission School District has responded to budgetary concerns in the
past by controlling expenditures and making necessary cuts in programs and services.
When making these cuts, the districts intent has been to minimize the impact on the
classroom. This continued to be our goal as we crafted a budget for 2009-2010. As
revenue projections were revised, we carefully reviewed each area of the budget and
developed a plan that included $10.6 million in reductions in an effort to address budget
constraints, deficit spending, and a commitment to increasing staff salaries while
sustaining the quality of education for our students and protecting the classroom to the
extent possible. I have included the complete list of reductions for your review, but I
would highlight that included in those reductions are 164 staff positions, 50 of which
were classroom positions (see Exhibit A). Additionally, our reductions have decreased
the number of counselors at most middle schools by 50 percent, and we have reduced our
librarians at the high school level by 50 percent or in essence a ratio of 1 librarian to
1,800 students. Educational aide allocations were reduced by 10-15 percent at all levels.
We reduced administrative positions, paraprofessionals, social workers, and parent
educators. At three of our five high schools, we reduced our campus police officers by

50 percent. We eliminated the New Beginnings store-front school program, adult English
language learner program, and intramural programs at elementary and middle schools.
Supplies and services budgets were reduced by more than 10 percent districtwide.
School districts received some direct support from federal stimulus funds. In
2009-2010, the Title VI-B stimulus of $3.4 million Shawnee Mission received from
TitleVI-B stimulus funds simply went to offset the amount reduced by the state
legislature, but our district did realize $1.1 million in stimulus support through Title I
funds. At this time, stimulus funds, intended to provide short-term assistance, are
available through June 30, 2011.
The districts budget includes $3.5 million for catastrophic special education
funding. In recent months, there has been some discussion about changing this portion of
the special education funding law to significantly reduce catastrophic aid
reimbursements. Meanwhile, the current special education categorical aid funding is
reimbursing only 65% of the excess costs in Shawnee Mission, well below the state
average of 92%. In fact, Shawnee Mission ranks next to last. Based on Kansas State
Department of Education numbers presented to the special education task force last year,
Shawnee Missions reimbursement is $6.1 million behind the state average of 92 percent.
Special education funding will be a critical budgetary concern for Shawnee Mission.
During 2009-2010, Shawnee Mission accessed its full Cost of Living Adjustment
(COLA) authority to offset the loss of revenue from the Johnson County sales tax as well
as the impact of reductions in local assessed valuation. This increased the local mill rate
by 3 mills. Despite implementing significant reductions and including stimulus and
catastrophic aid funds, our district will deficit spend $5.6 million in 2009-2010 (see Table
1). That amount is expected to grow to $6.7 million in deficit spending for 2010-2011
and $12 million in 2011-2012. Our district has maintained fund balances that will be
critical to cover these shortfalls. With our projected deficit of $5.6 million for the current
year, our ending balance is expected to be $18.9 million. If we simply remain on the
current course, which includes no increases in salary, benefit costs, or accounting for
inflationary costs, our fund balances will shrink to $12.2 million due to deficit spending
in 2010-2011 and to $178,000 at the end of 2011-2012.
If all of the budget assumptions occur, the district will need to make further
reductions of $12.1 million prior to the 2012-2013 school year. Any further reductions in
funding will require a much larger cut.

Table 1
Current
Projections:

Revenues

2008-09 Actual
$ 232,975,688

2009-10 Budget
$ 226,348,962

2010-11
Projection
$ 224,181,838

2011-12
Projection
$ 222,320,333

Expenditures

234,778,743

231,996,173

230,890,118

Deficit

(1,803,055)

(5,647,211)

(6,708,280)

12,243,075

Anticipated
Ending
Balance *
$
24,598,566
$
18,951,355 $
*Does not include contingency reserve balances of $5.6 million

234,385,269
(12,064,936)

178,139

If changes are made to restrict catastrophic aid funding without corresponding

improvements in categorical aid funding, the budget situation becomes much worse.
Without that funding, our deficit would escalate to $9.1 million for 2009-2010 bringing
our ending fund balance to $15.5 million (See Table 2). In 2010-2011, the deficit would
be more than $10 million and the ending balance would dip to $5.2 million. In 20112012, the deficit would rise to $15.5 million and the Shawnee Mission School District
would find itself not just out of money but with a shortfall of $10.3 million. The district
would be required to implement budget reductions of $10.3 million to break even in
2011-2012 and another $5.3 million for the 2012-2013 school year.
Table 2
Projections without
catastrophic aid:

Revenues

2009-10 Budget
$ 222,848,962

2010-11
Projection
$ 220,681,838

2011-12
Projection
$ 218,820,333

Expenditures

231,996,173

230,890,118

234,385,269

Deficit

(9,147,211)

(10,208,280)

(15,564,936)

(10,321,861)

Anticipated Ending
Balance*
$
15,451,355 $
5,243,075
*Does not include contingency reserve balances of $5.6 million

The current base state aid per pupil is partially funded by federal stimulus money.
If the state reduces the corresponding per pupil amount in 2011-2012, the district would
need to reduce $17.6 million prior to the 2011-2012 school year to break even and
another $5.2 million in 2012-2013 (See Table 3). If the legislature reduces funding to
school districts beyond these amounts, the cuts required would be much deeper.

Table 3
Projections with a
reduction in BSAPP
Stimulus Aid to States:

Revenues

2009-10 Budget
$ 222,848,962

2010-11 Projection
$ 220,681,838

2011-12
Projection
211,591,586

Expenditures

231,996,173

230,890,118

234,385,269

Deficit

(9,147,211)

(10,208,280)

(22,793,683)

(17,550,608)

Anticipated Ending
Balance*
$
15,451,355 $
5,243,075
*Does not include contingency reserve balances of $5.6 million

Recent reports show that school districts have significant combined fund
balances. Some have looked at these balances as a temporary source of funds to replace a
portion of state funding. As you can see from the exhibits, Shawnee Mission had $25
million in operating funds in this total. The district already plans to use these balances to
offset deficit spending. The district also has balances in the bond and interest ($18.5) and
capital outlay funds ($36.4). The bond and interest balance must be used to pay the
bondholders in October. Capital outlay balances cannot be used for operations under
existing law.
The Shawnee Mission School District currently ranks 262 out of 295 districts in
available operational funds per pupil Our district is fully utilizing all funding for which it
is currently eligible under the formula including all allowable local funding mechanisms.
Even with careful planning and significant reductions, our district, like others in the state,
find that we are committing more funding than available simply to maintain our current
level of programming and service.
The Shawnee Mission School District, with the support of our community, has
faced the budget challenges with which we have been presented head-on. We have
achieved efficiencies to the extent possible without harming students in the classroom.
Our community has seen neighborhood schools close, programs eliminated, and staffing
diminished. Our board of education has vehemently protected the classroom
emphasizing the importance quality instruction and low class sizes have on student
achievement. Despite the funding challenges, our students have continued to achieve at
high levels. Our student population has become more diverse and our economically
disadvantaged population has increased to more than a quarter of our overall population
with some schools reporting as much as 60-70 percent of their students qualifying for
lunch support. To meet the needs of individual students and to continue to advance the
academic achievement of all students and the progress of closing achievement gaps
among identified subgroups, we must have necessary resources.

We know that there will inevitably be some increases in expenditures in certain

areas. In addition, federal stimulus funds are scheduled to expire at the end of the 20102011 school year. It is unclear what will happen with state revenues and the states
general fund. With all of these factors combined, we are gravely concerned about further
reductions in state funding for K-12 education. Further reductions in state and federal
funds would force our district to make reductions that would directly impact students in
the classroom. With approximately 87 percent of our budget in salaries and benefits,
future reductions would likely require us to cut employees and those cuts could force our
class sizes to exceed the staffing guidelines that have been in place in our district for
decades (Exhibit B). Further reductions would likely force the Shawnee Mission School
District to dismantle programs put in place to increase student achievement, meet the
needs of individuals, and realize the goals of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation.
These outcomes are concerning in that they directly harm our children and do not
reflect the values of our community. Our state has traditionally aspired to provide the
best for its children. I urge you to consider the impact that any further cuts in education
funding will have on the academic preparation and success of our students. On behalf of
the students in Shawnee Mission and across the state of Kansas, we appreciate your work
and support to address these challenging and important issues.