Kansas has been the poster child for tax cutting experiments, getting lots of attention to see if the strategy worked as promised. It didn’t, and its legislature put a stop to it.
In 2012 and 2013, Governor Sam Brownback pushed through income tax cuts and a new business tax formula that reduced rates to zero for certain types of firms.
Public schools suffered during the four+ years of impact. Kansas schools fell from 23rd in the nation for per pupil funding to 31st. Funding gaps grew, reserves were depleted, economic growth slowed compared with neighboring states, and the state’s credit rating was downgraded twice.
The turning point came as citizens felt the effects and raised their voices.
In March, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled school funding constitutionally inadequate. In May, the legislature passed a measure to restore some of the tax cuts and increase school spending. The Governor vetoed the bill. In June, the legislature overrode the Governor’s veto – in bipartisan fashion. The Supreme Court is to review this new plan soon and determine if it is adequate.
Amy Martin, president of the Kansas Association of School Boards, reacted to this year’s positive developments: “Supported by a new vision, new finance formula, new funding and improved accountability measures, Kansas public school education will mark an historic new day on July 1.”
We are in an era when cutting taxes and spending is the first goal. Dealing with the effects of those actions seems to be secondary.
It is appropriate to examine expenditures. No one wants to pay for ineffective services or shoddy work. But, providing an education costs money. Teachers should be paid well, facilities should be in good shape, buses need to be safe, instructional materials and new technologies are an ongoing expense.
There are more funding gaps to be filled than there is extra money in school district budgets. Spending for public education has been cut to the bone in recent years in many states. Too many have cut essential services. Just south of Kansas in my home state of Oklahoma the school week has been reduced to four days in many districts to deal with similar tax and spending cuts.
Supporters of Governor Brownback’s tax plan say it didn’t have enough time to work, and that more spending cuts were needed to match the tax reductions.
That’s the real danger going forward: the repeated message that more of this austerity will work if we only give it more time.
We need to base our decisions about federal, state and local budgets first on what is needed to have healthy, successful communities. It is my belief a positive message about big goals for people can win the day.
I hope the Kansas story is the first of many where people raise their voices and demand public investment in their schools, and in support of other services that touch everyone.
Public schools don’t need more time to test austerity; we need to seize this opportunity and to repeat the message about the positive returns on the investment in our children.
Timeline of the Kansas experiment as published by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
http://www.cbpp.org/blog/timeline-5-years-of-kansas-tax-cut-disaster
May 22, 2012
Governor Brownback signs tax cuts
Jan. 1, 2013
Tax cuts implemented
Fiscal Year 2013-14
Revenues fall $700 million
April 2014
Moody’s downgrades Kansas bonds
August 2014
Standard & Poor’s downgrades Kansas bonds
Feb. 2015
Governor cuts school funding
Early 2015
Kansas drains operating savings
March 2015
Lawmakers jettison school funding formula
May 2015
Schools close early in some districts
July 2016
Standard & Poor’s downgrades Kansas bonds again
Sept. 2016
State general K-12 aid down 13 percent since 2008
Oct. 2016
Job growth since tax cuts: Kansas 3.3%; U.S. 8.4%
Feb. 2017
Lawmakers vote to roll back tax cuts; Brownback vetoes
March 2017
KY Supreme Court: School funding too low
May 2017
Budget gap now at least $900 million
June 6, 2017
Lawmakers enact bill reversing most of the tax cuts over Brownback veto
Public School Citizen 