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Kansas lawmakers hear higher-education funding requests; Regents warn of literacy and cybersecurity risks
Summary
Leaders from the Kansas Board of Regents, Washburn University, community and technical colleges and private colleges told the Senate Ways and Means Committee they need sustained funding for student aid, technical training, campus maintenance, cybersecurity and literacy programs.
Dr. Blake Flanders, president and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents, told the Senate Ways and Means Committee that the board is narrowing its budget request to a few sector priorities and asked the Legislature to preserve and restore funding for two‑year college formulas, technical high‑school enrollments under Senate Bill 155 and campus restoration money the House removed.
Flanders said the coordinated system recommends fully funding two‑year college formulas and increasing the state pay‑plan shortfall for employees. He urged protection of student‑success and need‑based funding and said the system faces repeated cybersecurity attacks. “We are attacked on a daily basis with cybersecurity,” Flanders said. He also urged continued funding for the Kansas Blueprint for Literacy, which was cut in the House; “There’s a storm coming,” he said. “Because if you don't read well, it's gonna be hard to participate in the economy.”
Julie Mazachek, president of Washburn University, described Washburn as a municipal,…
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