TEA approves process, definitions and timeline to implement Kansas Technical College operating grant (House Bill 2195)

Director Vera Brown presented the board with the statutory text of House Bill 2195, which establishes the Kansas Technical College operating grant fund and charges the Technical Education Authority with administering the fund. Brown said the statute requires the authority to set target objectives and to identify allowable expenditure categories for instruction and operations.

Board staff recommended a working definition of instruction — costs directly supporting teaching, such as salaries, benefits, departmental expenses, classroom materials and lab supplies — and a broader definition of operations that includes administrative and infrastructure expenses necessary for institutional functionality (student services, instructional support, auxiliary enterprises, facilities and buildings). Brown said staff collaborated with technical colleges and finance staff and provided a strikethrough of a narrower original definition in the issue paper.

Brown proposed a timeline for implementation: technical colleges will present planned activities and measurable objectives at the March and April budget & finance committee meetings, the full authority will review and approve proposals in May, colleges will submit reports in July, and the budget & finance committee plus the full TEA will receive results in August. The authority voted to approve moving forward with the proposed timeline and to begin scheduling presentations.

Board members discussed whether operations should include capital expenditures and asked for clarity on reporting formats. Technical college representatives said the grant was intended to be broad enough to help with infrastructure needs given tech colleges’ limited taxing authority.

The matter moved forward with a formal motion and voice vote approving the proposed timeline and process.