KBOR staff: community colleges received most 2025 appropriations; $3M held for Johnson County under proviso

KBOR staff briefed the Kansas Technical Education Authority on Aug. 21 that most of the 2025 state appropriations for community and technical colleges were distributed ahead of the fall semester, but one community college—Johnson County Community College—did not receive two line-item distributions because it certified more than six months of cash on hand.

Elaine Frisbie, KBOR finance staff, told the TEA that the legislature’s proviso directed the agency to require community colleges to certify cash-on-hand as of June 30, 2025; colleges with six months or less qualified for the student-success initiative and business-and-industry/apprenticeship funds. JCCC certified an excess cash balance and therefore did not receive roughly $3 million in business-and-industry/apprenticeship funding and about $2.2 million in student-success initiative funding; those amounts remain in the KBOR account.

Frisbie said the held funds remain in the account and could be transferred to another budget line only at the request of the KBOR president and with approval by the budget director. She noted that if KBOR later needs additional funding for other programs such as Excel/CTE or Excel/CTE-related cost-model supplemental requests, those held dollars could be considered for reallocation through standard budget processes.

Frisbie also confirmed the first half of tiered and non-tiered state aid was distributed per statute and that technical college operating grants and Campus Restoration Act funds were issued.

The briefing was informational; no TEA vote was required.