By ALAN HOSKINS, Kansan Contributor

Although not as aesthetically attractive, a change in landscaping at Kansas City Kansas Community College has had a major impact both financially and environmentally.

“Instead of mowing some of our open areas every week to 10 days, we’re mowing twice a year which has been a huge savings,” says Jeff Sixta, the interim Director of Buildings and Grounds. “Instead of running the tractor virtually non-stop, we are able to use that employee in other areas. Also, it has dramatically cut down on carbon emissions.”

“Simply, it saves us money,” says Brian Bode, Vice-President of Student and Administrative Services. “It saves us in manpower, fuel, wear and tear on the equipment and it’s environmentally better and better for the wildlife. Mowing twice a year instead of every week simply saves taxpayer dollars.”

Bode said 21 acres of college property located north of Lowe’s across College Parkway were not mowed this year along with an estimated 10-15 acres of open fields on the main campus.

“We were able to find a farmer who needed the grass for feed who was willing to come in and mow, rake and bale the hay and haul it off at no cost to the college,” said Bode.

The first cutting and bailing occurred in early July, a second cutting will come this fall.

Sixta said the reduced mowing is not new on college campuses.

“I was over at the University of Kansas last spring and noticed they were letting open areas grow so I took some photos and showed them to Brian Bode,” said Sixta, who initiated the program on a trial basis last year.

Only areas without traffic were left un-cut.

“We mowed about 20 feet off the curbs and other areas to keep it looking as good as possible,” said Sixta. “And we did have some complaints, particularly from people walking the campus who have been use to a pristine campus and were not aware of what we were doing.”

As a result, changes will continue.

“We’re going to be tweaking it,” said Sixta. “For instance, we’ve learned there are some areas that we let grow that we’ll be mowing because of high visibility or it was an area that was too small to get equipment in to have it cut and bailed.” 

PHOTO: Mowing only the area along sidewalks and curbing in open areas of the Kansas City Kansas Community College campus has saved not only saved the college fuel, manpower and equipment costs but has dramatically cut down on carbon emissions as part of KCKCC’s “Go-Green” policy. (KCKCC Photo by Alan Hoskins)

While mill levy increases have been announced across Wyandotte County this budget season, the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools District will be one of the few to lower its total mill levy.

The Kansas City, Kan., Board of Education voted tonight to establish a maximum mill levy of 68.173 for the 2011 fiscal year, down just over 3.3 mills from last year's number.

Included in the budget is preparation for an additional $82-cut from the state's Base State Aid Per Pupil rate.

"We made sure to built in the needs to make sure we meet the goals you have set," said Kelli Mather, director of operations and quality control.

By agreeing to publish the mill levy, the final levy can not exceed the 68.173 number board members agreed to tonight.

KCKPS Director of Finance Connie Brand said the levy decrease was possible because tax collections increased, helping negate a lower assessed valuation.

"Collections have rebounded," she said. "Those cash balances are much stronger and gives us a better starting point."

The assessed valuation for the district was two percent lower than last year. Although a decrease, the number was expected to be worse.

For a homeowner with a $100,000 home inside the KCKPS boundaries, the district's portion of the property tax bill will be about $34 lower than it was last year.

While the state budget situation and cuts dominated the headlines last year, there's one bit of good budget news to begin the summer: Kansas Lottery revenues are higher.

This year's unaudited revenue figure is $235.4 million, an increase of 2.13 percent from last year's $230.5 million number.

The state received about $69 million in revenue from the Kansas Lottery as a result.

“Our record year for sales was 2007, when sales were $240 million,” said Kansas Lottery Executive Director Ed Van Petten. “We didn’t surpass that this year, but we’re pleased to have increased sales since last year.”

Locally, the Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway paid a $25 million "privilege fee" to the state in 2010.

On a casino related note, the state has received about $4.5 million in revenue from the Boot Hill Casino & Resort in Dodge City.

Next year's Unified Government budget will be presented on Thursday, July 8.

July 8 marks the first of seven meetings dedicated towards next year's budget.

The meeting will be held at 5 p.m. on Thursday. The budget will be presented and a Unified Government Commission meeting will follow.

Other budget meetings:

• A budget workshop will be held at 4 p.m. on Monday, July 12.
• A budget workshop, which will set the maximum mill levy for the county, will be held at 4 p.m. July 15.
• Following Standing Committee Meetings, a budget session will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 19.
• Prior to July 22's commission meeting, the UG will meet for a session at 4 p.m.
• An optional budget work session has been scheduled for 4 p.m. on Monday, July 26.
• A final budget work session (if required) is scheduled for July 29 at 4 p.m. A public hearing will be held at 5 p.m., with a commission meeting to come at 7 p.m. The budget is scheduled to be adopted that night.

All budget workshop meetings will be held on the 6th floor training room of City Hall.

The Kansas City, Kan., Board of Education will hold a special meeting next Monday for the purpose of a budget workshop.

The meeting will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, June 14, on the third floor of the Kansas City, Kan., Public Library.

Following the workshop, the board will recess to executive session.

After raising the mill levy in the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools District last year by nine mills, it appears the district will "return" a chunk of it for the next fiscal year budget.

Preliminary discussion between members of the Kansas City, Kan., Board of Education indicates the board would like to lower the mill levy by at least three mills and possibly more.

The mill levy decrease is possible despite the district not recovering around $7 million of state funding it received at the beginning of last year.

KCK Public Schools Director of Finance Connie Brand said the district could cut the mill by 3.759 without dipping into contingency funds or making additional cuts.

Brand said tax collection within the district's boundaries increased last year. However, the district's assessed valuation will be key in determining how steep the mill levy cut will be.

"Assessed valuation will be a huge question down the road," Brand said. "I'm getting a good idea of what the numbers are. I don't know the delinquency rate and I don't have the definite numbers from the county."

Brand said a six percent reduction in the number is expected, although its far from confirmed. If the assessed valuation somehow increases or is flat from last year, the district would have the option of lowering the mill levy more.

Last year, the district received its number from the Unified Government deep into the budget process.

While most board members expressed desire to cut the levy, one was cautious about it.

"My biggest concern is what I'm hearing about state revenues," said Vicki Meyer. "If we lower it, we'll have to come back and make some horrendous decisions. We would have a little cushion and don't have to make those type of decisions. I'd like to have that little bit of room breath easily."

Board member Richard Kaminski said the district should start mill levy reduction discussions on a five-mill decrease.

"We raised our mill levy so much last time," he said. "We should have more of a balance."

Should the board cut five mills, the district would likely be required to dip into its contingency fund by $270,000 and look at making cuts in the School Resource Officers program at the five high schools.

The Kansas City, Kan., Public Library mill – which is included in the district's overall mill levy – is expected to increase by .25 mills this year.

KCK Public Schools Incoming Superintendent Cynthia Lane said the district has lost over $20 million in funding the past three years.

"The state will not meet its obligations to secure additional revenue," Lane said. "We will plan to respond to the governor's allotments if any are made."

Just last year, Lane said the district lost $1.7 million dedicated to "at risk" students, $830,000 in special education funding and $206,385 in bilingual funding.

A budget workshop is scheduled early next week.

PHOTO: Board members Brenda Jones, Vicki Meyers and Gloria Willis look at budget numbers from last night's meeting.

A bill under consideration by the Kansas Legislature could create some more financial problems for local school districts.

The bill is House Bill 2739, legislation being proposed by Kansas Speaker of the House Mike O'Neal.

HB 2739 has received some attention at local board of education meetings this month, most notably by the Kansas City, Kan., Board of Education and Piper Board of Education.

The most frustrating thing about the bill, those from school districts say, is the fact that 10 percent of the district's local option budget (funding consisting of local tax dollars) would be rolled into the state's general fund.

"It would have a much larger impact on poor districts," said David Smith, Assistant to the Superintendent for Communications in the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools District. "It will have a large impact on us. The district would be able to recoup that money by raising taxes locally."

But in order to "recoup" the money, the district estimates that they would have to raise their overall mill by six mills to recover funding lost if the bill's approved.

"It's not really realistic," Smith said. "It's a bad bill."

For smaller districts like Piper, the same type of cut could be devastating.

"These are the most extraordinary times in my 30 years," said Steve Adams, superintendent of the district.

The bill could cost Piper a few hundred thousand dollars in state aid that would have to be "made up" by more local tax dollars.

"The bill creates an illusion that funding has not been cut by the state," Adams said.  "But it will be."

A report released by the Kansas Department of Education shows that approximately $172 million in general state aid would be cut by the bill.

Along with the problems faced by KCK Public Schools and Piper, both Bonner Springs and Turner would have to raise their mill levies by 7.02 and 9.59, respectively. 

More financial information for each school district:

• KCK Public Schools: The district would lose around $4.3 million in state aid if the bill passed.
• Turner: The Turner School District would lose about $761,000 in state aid.
• Bonner Springs: The district would lose $414,100 in aid.
• Piper: Piper would lose just over $258,000 in funding.

Here is the PDF copy of HB 2739 and here's a PDF of the KSDE report.

I'll have a full recap of the budget news today, but since I'm on the way to a Bishop Ward baseball game, here's some general notes.

• The Kansas City, Kan., Board of Education will likely keep the mill levy "flat," or attempt to decrease by a small amount. Last year the district was forced to raise the mill levy. This year, it looks like the levy will be flat barring any unforeseen circumstances.
• There might be a slight, slight increase in the library mill levy.
• Cuts in administrative pay have been put on the table in terms of finding ways to save revenue without cutting any additional services. Most notably, the superintendent would take a five percent cut in pay. The pay cut would NOT apply to teachers, instructional aides or paraprofessionals. Those with a salary of over $67,000 would be targeted with this move.
• Last month, there were four phases of cuts. There are now five phases. The fifth includes athletics and activities at the middle and high school levels. The board and administration say that cutting sports and activities will be a last resort type of cut. The district spends about $1.28 million each year on middle school and high school activities.

Again, more information later.

The board, other than revoking the charter school, took no official action on all items related to the budget.

The Turner Board of Education will hold a public meeting tonight at Turner High School from 6–8 p.m.

The forum will allow the district's patrons to give the district feedback on possible budget cuts.

Items that will be discussed: Previous budget reductions, possible reductions for the upcoming school year, Schools for Fair Funding, legislative information and feedback for district officials.

The meeting will be held in the school's commons area.

Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools will host two budget forums next month.

The budget forums are set for Monday, March 8 at Washington High School and Thursday, March 11, at Wyandotte High School. Both forums will be held from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Information about the district's budget will be available.

"We want to solicit the community about the budget and some actions we might have to take," said David Smith, assistant to the superintendent for communications.

Everyone who lives or works in the district are encouraged to attend.

The news keeps on getting worse for area school districts regarding state revenue and funding.

Early estimations and speculation from Topeka indicates that school districts will likely be hit with another budget cut within the next two weeks. The cut could range between $150-200 per student.

Should the cut be at its maximum, the per-pupil funding rate would be near $4,000 a student, which would be lower than the rate prior to the Kansas Supreme Court ruling approving over $460 million in new education funding years ago.

Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools would take the toughest hit. Assistant Superintendent Cynthia Lane said the district could lose an addition $5 million in funding.

So far, in order to counteract the expected cuts, the board increased its mill levy, used $2 million in emergency board contingency funds and cut members of its facility and library staff.

Bill Reardon, lobbyist for the school district, said the decision and amount would likely be determined "before Thanksgiving."