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Auditors: districts spend most at‑risk dollars on salaries; approved program list lacked peer‑reviewed evidence
Summary
Legislative Post Audit reported in 2019 and 2023 that districts primarily pay staff with at‑risk dollars, many approved programs lacked peer‑reviewed evidence of effectiveness, and statewide student outcomes did not improve in the audited period.
Legislative Post Audit presented two recent reports to the Special Education and Related Services Funding Task Force on July 1, reviewing how Kansas school districts generate, spend and account for at‑risk funds and whether the expenditures are linked to improved student outcomes.
Heidi Zimmerman, principal auditor with Legislative Post Audit, summarized the agency's 2019 and 2023 findings. LPA examined a nonrandom sample of districts and detailed that the majority of at‑risk expenditures — roughly 96–97% in the sample — were for staff salaries and benefits; about 90% of those staff paid from at‑risk funds were classroom teachers or paraprofessionals. LPA found…
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