Division of the Budget
Landon State Office Building Phone: (785) 296-2436
900 SW Jackson Street, Room 504 adam.c.proffitt@ks.gov
Topeka, KS 66612 Division of the Budget http://budget.kansas.gov
Adam Proffitt, Director Laura Kelly, Governor


March 16, 2023


The Honorable Molly Baumgardner, Chairperson
Senate Committee on Education
300 SW 10th Avenue, Room 144-S
Topeka, Kansas 66612
Dear Senator Baumgardner:
SUBJECT: Fiscal Note for SB 304 by Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs
In accordance with KSA 75-3715a, the following fiscal note concerning SB 304 is
respectfully submitted to your committee.
SB 304 would authorize the State Board of Education to establish new school districts to
attach a territory of a disorganized school district to one or more adjacent school districts. In
addition, the bill would establish timelines for a dissatisfied resident to request the State Board of
Education to review a district’s resolution to permanently close a building. After the review, the
State Board of Education would issue an advisory determination to the school district stating
whether the resolution is reasonable and may include recommendations regarding modifying or
rescinding the resolution. The adopted resolution of a school district would be effective following
waiting period of 30 days without the request for administrative review or without action being
filed in a district court. If action is filed with the court, the resolution would be effective after final
adjudication.
According to the Department of Education, the primary cost factor for the bill’s provisions
of creating new school districts would be the low enrollment weighting in the school finance
formula. This weighting factor is calculated on a variable formula in that the smaller the school
district, the greater the low enrollment weighting would be per student. As a result, if a larger
district is disorganized and a smaller district would be created, the same number of students would
generate a greater amount for the low enrollment weighting factor. In addition, the state aid for
any new districts would alter Supplemental General State Aid, Capital Outlay State Aid, and
Capital Improvement State Aid. Any fiscal effect for the enactment of the bill would be dependent
on which school districts would be involved, which is not known. The provisions regarding the
review of a district resolution to permanently close a school building could require additional
The Honorable Molly Baumgardner, Chairperson
Page 2—SB 304

administrative time to implement; however, any additional costs would be negligible. Any fiscal
effect associated with SB 304 is not reflected in The FY 2024 Governor’s Budget Report.


Sincerely,

Adam Proffitt
Director of the Budget

cc: Craig Neuenswander, Department of Education


Statutes affected:
As introduced: 72-635, 72-1431