Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, on Monday announced a  fifth set of cuts to the current budget, which began July 1.

Every state agency has had money cut, he said.

At the beginning of the month, the Revenue Estimating Committee released its revised budget numbers, which showed the state needed to cut about $260 million from the state budget. That figure assumed the state would not pay additional money to kindergarten through 12th grade to make up for increased costs from enrollment growth and more students receiving free and reduced lunches.

The cuts fulfill Parkinson’s promise that lawmakers would have a balanced budget when they return to Topeka in January.

Below is the governor’s press release detailing the newest cuts.

Parkinson cuts spending, balances budget

Kansas’ schools, roads and the disabled are critically impacted

Governor Mark Parkinson has cut millions in state funding to bring the current budget into balance. Kansas’ schools, roads and many of the state’s most vulnerable citizens are again impacted by a historic drop in state revenue.

“Unfortunately, we are now to the point of potentially making crippling cuts to state services. This latest round of budget reductions will mean that class sizes will again increase in Kansas schools. Some districts will be forced to lay off teachers and close schools. These cuts mean that our universities will have fewer professors, offer fewer classes and critical investments in our future are in jeopardy. These budget cuts will force us to reduce supervision of released prisoners, increase the number of disabled citizens waiting for services and reduce road maintenance across the state,” Parkinson said.

“It is my obligation as a leader to balance the budget. But it is also my duty to protect our most precious resources. So I have once again balanced the budget. I promised that I would and I have kept that promise. But we cannot make it through this recession by cutting ourselves into an incurable position. When the Legislature returns in January, together we must look towards building a solution for the years ahead or we will permanently damage the foundation of our state.”

An overview of the Governor’s budget reductions and adjustments are as follows:

Budget adjustments: $258.9 million

1. Targeted, strategic budget reductions in individual agencies as outlined on the attached list.

2. Reduce highway maintenance funds by $50 million. This is achieved by transferring $50 million from the State Highway Fund to the State General Fund.

3. Reduce the amount transferred from the State General Fund to the Bioscience Authority by $5 million. This will still allow $35 million to be transferred from the General Fund to the Bioscience Authority.

4. Reduce funding for K-12 by $36 million and Regents by $2 million, leaving both at 2006 spending levels. Do not fund recommended $155.8 million K-12 increase based on revised estimates of property tax revenue and student enrollment.

5. Move unspent funds from prior years from individual agency budgets to the State General Fund. This includes the Governor’s Office and the Legislature.

6. Reduce Medicaid reimbursement rates by 10%. This cannot be implemented immediately, so it is estimated it will result in savings of $22 million during the last three months of the fiscal year.

Offset Budget Adjustments with Recovery Act Funds: $85.9 Million

1. Reduce K-12 Supplemental General State Aid by $85.9 million, but offset that reduction with $85.9 million of federal Recovery Act funds that had been budgeted for the 2011 fiscal year. This leaves the state with $189.6 million of Recovery Act funds (State Fiscal Stabilization and Special Education funds) for use in the 2011 budget.

States have discretion over when to draw down these Recovery Act funds. At least 10 states plan to use all of their Fiscal Stabilization Recovery Act funding by the end of FY 2010. A large majority of states plan to use a greater portion of the funding in FY 2010 and a smaller portion in FY 2011.

The state is expected to bring in about 4.2 percent less in 2010 than forecast in April — or $235.2 million less, the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group said.

The projected minimum budget cut doesn’t include an estimated $155 million public schools are likely to need to cover increased student populations, special education and a jump in students qualifying for free and reduced lunch. That number swells the cuts needed to balance the 2010 budget, which ends June 30, to $459 million.

Not including the additional money for schools is the equivalent to cutting about $150 from per pupil state aid, said Alan Conroy, director of the Kansas Legislative Research Department.

No matter which number is used, “it’s a tremendous hole,” said Sen. Jay Emler, R-Lindsborg, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which handles the budget.

Either number is likely to result in more cuts to public schools.

Mark Tallman, lobbyist for the Kansas Association of School Boards, said his group has been warning members to expect cuts double or triple what they had seen previously.

That warning could make mid-year cuts easier than they would have been last year when the downturn was a surprise, but deeper cuts would affect gains in student achievement, he said.

Deeper cuts also would increase the likelihood of another lawsuit over school finance, he said.

“Probably starting this year but certainly for next year there are going to be fewer districts, fewer schools — we are already seeing that — fewer teachers, fewer days in the school calendar,” Tallman said. “It is just a question of how much.”

Despite the bad news, revenue estimators do expect the state to start to crawl out of the current slump in the next year.

“The recession in Kansas in not over in the current fiscal year but there are signs of recovery and we are anticipating those signs will increase as we get to 2011,” said Alan Conroy, director of the state Legislative Research Department.

Still, the initial revenue estimate for fiscal year 2011, which begins July 1, is $122.2 million or 2.3 percent below the current year’s revised estimate of $5.3 billion.

The 2010 budget has already gone through four rounds of cuts. The last round was ordered by Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, in early July.

In a written statement Thursday, Parkinson said again that lawmakers would face a balanced 2010 budget when they returned to Topeka for the session in January.

“I will take whatever steps are necessary to balance the 2010 budget before the Legislature returns; that is a promise I have made, and it is a promise I will keep,” Parkinson said.

He did not outline what those cuts might look like but advocated taking a “calm and measured approach.”

“These deficit numbers are challenging, but they are manageable,” he said.

Given that the budget has been cut repeatedly, some lawmakers are suggesting tax increases should be discussed.

“We are not in the same place that we were last year. We’ve made difficult and painful cuts,” said House Assistant Minority Leader Rep. Jim Ward, D-Wichita. “We have to realize and recognize that people have made sacrifices.”

If tax cuts are not considered, then the state should at least consider not reducing taxes, he said.

Emler said he expected to hear arguments on both sides of the tax question. He pointed out that increasing the income tax would not help the immediate revenue problem because the taxes would not go into effect immediately.

“I suspect there will be some pressure to do something with sales tax. Whether or not there is the will to do something with sales tax is another story,” he said.

Revenue estimators decreased the amount the state was expected to bring in 2010 by $235.2 million, or 4.2 percent below prior estimate.

The initial estimated for fiscal year 2011, which begins July 1, is $122.2 million or 2.3 percent below the current year’s revised estimated of $5.3 billion.

“The recession in Kansas in not over in the current fiscal year but there are signs of recovery and we are anticipating those signs will increase as we get to 2011,” said Alan Conroy, director of the state Legislative Research Department.

The current budget, which ends June 30, has already gone through four rounds of cuts. The last round was ordered by Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, who ordered cuts to the budget in early July shortly after the budget began.

The governor has promised that lawmakers will return to Topeka in January to a balanced budget, which means he is likely to order more cuts.

On Thursday, the Internal Revenue Service released its list of taxpayers whose refund checks have been returned to the department. The average amount owed to Kansans is $837, a department release said.

Most often, the checks are returned because the person filing has moved for some reason, such as a college student or couples who got married or divorced, said Michael Devine, IRS spokesman for Kansas and Missouri.

In Sedgwick County, the IRS has been unable to deliver refund checks to 118 people, totaling $80,488, for an average refund of $682. That is down from 2008 when the department could not return checks to 125 people who were owed $774 on average.

In Butler County there were 10 returned checks, Harvey County had five and Sumner County had six. The IRS does not calculate an average refund in counties where fewer than 10 people are owed money.

The list only contains of people who received their refund check by mail, Devine said. Anyone questioning if they are owed money by the federal government can check the status of their refund at irs.gov. To check the status of a refund, people will need their Social Security Number, filing status and the amount of their refund.

People can also change their address online.

“It’s their money,” he said. “We are trying to get them their money and if they ask quickly, they can get it before Christmas.”

For more, read Friday’s Wichita Eagle.

Kerr joined the department two years ago.

Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, praise Kerr’s leadership during difficult economic times.

“Despite the global recession, he led our state to a record $12.47 billion in exports, marking the fourth straight year Kansas has achieved an all-time high in export growth,” Parkinson said in a written statement.

The governor’s office said he would announce his nominee for Commerce Secretary on Friday morning.

“We need to have the transmission line from Spearville to Wichita to be built,” said Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, on Wednesday.

That project needs the Southwest Power Pool to regionlize the rates for that area and approve the project.

The project had dropped off the pool’s priority list, the pool oversees nine states.

On Tuesday the pool’s board move the project back on to the priority list.

“It will continue to be our priority to keep it on that list,” he said.

Wednesday, Parkinson reiterate his statement that he will not run for reelection. It’s a promise he’s repeated consistently since taking over the state’s top executive spot.

Earlier this month, Kansas Democratic Party Chairman Larry Gates said he would not run for governor. Currently, the party does not have a candidate.

Parkinson said a number of other potential and “very interesting” candidates have surfaced but he wouldn’t name anyone.

“This is one of those things where time will tell and I continue to predict that we will have a strong and competitive candidate for governor,” he said.

Wednesday, Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, promised that the current budget would be balanced when the Republican-lead Legislature returns to Topeka in January.

“I’m going to take all the heat,” Parkinson said during a news conference in the Capitol.

Current estimates project a more than $100 million shortfall for the 2010 budget, which started July 1. The dollar amount could grow depending on what the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group says next week.

Kansas has seen four rounds of spending reductions this year from its $13 billion annual budget.

Next Thursday, revenue estimators will release their projections of the amount of money Kansas is expected to have to operate. Any cuts to the current budget and next year’s budget, which lawmakers will hammer out during the session, will be based on those figures.

Parkinson would not say how he planned to balance the budget but a likely option would be  cuts to state agencies.

Any decisions would be made with input from legislative leaders, Parkinson said.

Otto

Now the Republican from LeRoy is tackling President Barack Obama, a Democrat, in “redneck rap.”

In the video Otto is decked out in a hat bearing the hand written message “Opossum (sic) the other Dark Meat” on the front. At the end of the riff he also takes the opportunity to advocate eating the meat saying “a little greasy but, hey.”

The grants were part of $934,591 from the State Children’s Advocacy Centers Grant Program distributed to 14 centers around the state.

Child Advocacy Center of Sedgwick County received $112,613, Sunlight Child Advocacy Center in Butler County received $40,121 and Heart to Heart in Harvey County received $70,807.

The money that the Child Advocacy Center of Sedgwick County received can be used to support staff salaries, forensic interviews or family support advocates who help connect families with local resources, Gov. Mark Parkinson’s office said in a written statement. For many centers, the grant program’s award is their primary source of funding.

“Children’s Advocacy Centers provide a safe place for abused children to talk about difficult and frightening abuse,” said Parkinson, a Democrat. “I’m grateful these centers are available to our children, and I am pleased to assist them in carrying out their important mission.”