Special education funding could be a hot topic in the Kansas Legislature in 2023, according to Christie Gerdes, director of the Barton County Special Services Cooperative housed at the Washington Education Center in Great Bend. The cooperative serves Great Bend USD 428, Otis-Bison USD 403, Ellinwood USD 355 and Hoisington USD 431.

There is a statutory mandate for the state to fund 92% of the special education budget for schools, but it has not done so for years. Currently, the funding is about 71%, plus 80% of transportation costs.

For the local cooperative, Gerdes estimates state aid for this year will come to over $4.1 million, with additional money coming from Medicaid reimbursements and federal funding. The four school districts also provide just over $2 million:

USD 428 - $1,206,686

USD 355 - $254,310

USD 403 - $154,667

USD 431 - $398,369

The cooperative has a no-frills budget, according to Gerdes.

“We don’t do a lot of extra things,” she told the USD 428 Board of Education on Monday. “What we do is provide staff and the services to students. That’s what we’re here for.” 

The local assessments – $2 million – are helping to take care of the extra costs that the cooperative isn’t able to cover through the other funding. If the state moved closer to the 92% level it is supposed to provide, local school districts could reduce the amount they pay to make up the difference.

Great Bend USD 428 Superintendent Khris Thexton said his district, which transfers $1.2 million to special education, could reduce that amount by roughly $750,000 if the state met its obligation. That is money the district takes from its general fund to supplement special education.

The percentage of students with disabilities is going up, Gerdes noted. “The students are there that need the assistance.”

Finding the best formula for funding special education is an age-old issue, Gerdes said.

“They can never come to a conclusion because there are always winners and losers. Sometimes the losers have the loudest voices – and then it gets stopped.”

However, Gerdes said the voices of special services directors like herself and superintendents like Thexton are beginning to have more of an impact.

“I think the conversation is changing,” she said. “It’s not just special education funding; the conversation is going more toward looking at the bigger picture.” 

Every school district in the state is paying more for special education because the state is not meeting the statutory 92%. These are dollars we could be spending in our district for other things.