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KLRD presents census per‑pupil data and KSDE staff flag assessment comparability and ESSER status
Summary
Jennifer Light of the Kansas Legislative Research Department reviewed FY2023 U.S. Census per‑pupil revenue and spending tables and answered members’ clarification requests about how Kansas reports local levies, what counts as "instruction" and the status of federal ESSER funds.
Jennifer Light of the Kansas Legislative Research Department reviewed Census Bureau tables and KLRD comparative documents and answered members’ clarification requests during the May 20 task‑force meeting.
Key numbers from the KLRD/Census summary
KLRD presented U.S. Census Bureau FY2023 per‑pupil figures for Kansas: total K–12 revenue per pupil $17,417; federal $2,345; state $10,702; local $4,371. Census spending per pupil for Kansas was shown as $14,847, of which KLRD reported $8,902 was for instruction. KLRD staff indicated the Census classifies the state’s 20‑mill local property tax distribution as state aid in Kansas’ reporting to the Census Bureau.
Questions raised by task force members
- Treatment of the 20‑mill local property tax: Multiple members noted Kansas collects a 20‑mill local property tax that is remitted to the state and then returned through the formula, and asked whether Census reporting counts that as state or local revenue. KLRD staff said Kansas reports that money as state aid for the Census tables but agreed to double‑check and provide clarifying documentation.
- Definition of “instruction”: Members asked whether the Census and Kansas State Department of Education use the same definition for the spending category labeled "instruction." KLRD and KSDE staff agreed to provide both definitions so the task force can compare reporting categories.
- Assessment comparability, cut scores and trends: KSDE staff, including Dr. Harwood and KLRD research staff (Matthew), explained that Kansas switched assessment frameworks and cut‑score settings in 2015 and again updated standards, which interrupts simple year‑to‑year comparisons from earlier test versions. Dr. Harwood noted that the new 2025 statewide assessment will undergo cut‑score setting after the testing window and that KU’s Achievement and Assessment Institute leads the technical cut‑score work; staff said the state will attempt to maintain longitudinal comparability where possible and will supply comparability notes to the task force.
- ESSER and other federal relief funding: KSDE staff said roughly $22 million in federal ESSER‑period funds remained unexpended and that a federal Office of Management and Budget decision about late‑drawdown requests had created uncertainty; the agency was appealing and monitoring court actions related to late liquidation timetables.
Next steps requested by the task force
Task force members asked KLRD and KSDE to provide: (1) documentation showing how Kansas reported the 20‑mill remittance to the Census, (2) the formal definition(s) of the Census “instruction” spending category and the state’s instructional spending code definitions for a side‑by‑side comparison, (3) the CPI‑adjusted historic spending table that KLRD referenced (a year‑by‑year comparison back to 2007 that staff had prepared), and (4) clarifications on the ESSER late‑draw status and any immediate budgetary consequences.
Members also asked for a separate brief on how student counts (attendance vs. enrollment vs. FTE) affect funding allocations — a topic ECS had noted earlier.
