Trying to help community colleges, too

A bill from Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence, and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Dwayne Umbarger, R-Thayer, would give tax credits to those who donate to community college capital improvement projects. “The community colleges are not owned by the state of Kansas, but they’re extremely important to the whole state because they’re part of the integrated system of higher education,” said Schmidt.
If this is passing the buck on where the needed bucks will come from for campus improvements, it’s at least evidence that the Legislature isn’t letting the $150 million maintenance backlog at the state’s 19 community colleges get lost in the bigger debate about state universities’ $727 million repair needs.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

5 Comments

  1. Uh huh
    Posted March 1, 2007 at 7:24 am | Permalink

    So yeah bigger priority is community colleges then State Universities….come on now.

  2. Tony
    Posted March 1, 2007 at 7:42 am | Permalink

    Anyone notice that Community Colleges tend to have campuses that are much smaller with less fancy buildings? Heck, look at Southwestern’s locations here in Wichita, they are both in strip malls.

    I think that if they should give the tax credits but for both community colleges and the universities.

  3. JWink
    Posted March 1, 2007 at 9:34 am | Permalink

    Pratt Community College is one of the best kept secrets in Kansas. Sometimes I drive there for lunch in their cafeteria and browse their library to remember what life should be all about.

  4. Vaughn Tolle
    Posted March 1, 2007 at 12:18 pm | Permalink

    Actually, Tony, if the CCs are not state owned, then it makes more sense to give the tax credits to the donors to the Universities; after all, in that case, the money is coming from the State treasury, whether directly or indirectly. Now, for an appropriate fee, I’ll be delighted to make a public policy argument as to why no tax credits should be allowed at all….

  5. Amy N.
    Posted March 1, 2007 at 5:54 pm | Permalink

    Tony,

    Southwestern is not a CC, but a private 4-year college.

    The problem with the maintenance issue is lack of using depreciation expense funds appropriately. Had the schools done so, this would be a nonissue.

    Same thing for K-12 schools maintenance issues.