District government-relations director warns major state tax and education bills unlikely before session end

Stuart Little, the Shawnee Mission School District’s government relations director, told the Board of Education on March 24 that the Kansas Legislature was in the conference-committee phase with days remaining in the regular session and that several proposals affecting school funding and local taxes were unresolved.

“Friday is the end of the regular session. They will, be done by the end of that day,” Little said, describing the schedule and the start of conference committee negotiations. He told the board the major items with direct implications for districts were property-tax growth limits, a series of income-tax proposals and negotiations over special-education funding.

The board heard that several competing proposals to limit assessed-valuation growth or cap property-tax increases were alive but unlikely to all pass both chambers. Little said one bill currently before legislators — referenced in the board briefing as “23 96” — applies to cities and counties but not to school districts as written today. He cautioned the board…