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Olathe briefing: State legislative session leaves several K‑12 measures unresolved, ESSER funds under review
Summary
At its April meeting the Olathe Board received a legislative update from Dr. Stewart Little noting stalled property‑tax relief, multiple governor vetoes, and uncertainty after the U.S. Department of Education moved to reclaim ESSER pandemic funds the state planned to use for K‑12 programs.
Dr. Stewart Little, Olathe Public Schools’ legislative liaison, told the board on April that the Kansas Legislature had finished most of its scheduled work but left significant education questions unsettled.
Little said lawmakers had not produced a major property‑tax reduction and that a conference committee was still negotiating possible changes. He added that the compressed, expedited legislative schedule reduced opportunities for public participation and careful review of budget changes.
The update listed several education items that moved through the le gislative process this session: a measure to adjust counting for virtual‑school students (Senate Bill 14) was signed; other bills and late insertions drew vetoes from the governor and, in some instances, failed override attempts. Little identified a set of proposals that will carry over into the legislature’s next biennial year, including a high‑profile voucher proposal (identified in the presentation as “school voucher bill 75”) and other tax scholarship and school‑policy bills.
Little told the board that the State Board of Education and the legislature are continuing work on a K‑12 funding task force to consider changes to the school finance formula and that a draft bill is expected next year.
Separately, district staff and board members discussed a recent federal action that removed about $22.6 million in ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds from Kansas. Dr. Little and district staff said state officials and congressional delegates were pursuing clarification with the U.S. Department of Education and that the department might reconsider whether all of the reclaimed funds fit the federal rules as applied in Kansas.
Board members asked about specific bills Little named and about whether items that failed this year could return in 2026. Little said bills that did not pass this year largely remain alive for the next session under the biennium schedule.
