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School Finance
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Welcome to KASB’s school finance resource center, featuring in-depth reports and analysis by Mark Tallman, KASB’s Associate Executive Director for Advocacy and Communications. With more than three decades of experience — including 11 years on the Auburn-Washburn USD 437 school board — Mark is a leading voice on Kansas school funding, academic achievement and education governance. His expertise helps Kansas leaders understand the story behind the numbers, the impact on students and communities, and the policy decisions shaping our schools. Explore his latest reports below to stay informed and strengthen your board’s decision-making.
Education Reports
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Kansas school district enrollment fell by about 2,000 students, or 0.4 percent, in the 2024-25 school year compared to the previous year. The decline is primarily due to falling birth rates and to more Kansans leaving the state than moving in, indicating further loss of enrollment is likely.
This statewide enrollment decline is not uniform. Some districts have added students and will continue to do so. But about two-thirds of all districts have lost enrollment over the past five years. Because public school funding is tied to enrollment, which affects staffing, facilities and programs, this trend may increase the need for long-term planning based on enrollment trends and contingencies.
After long-term growth followed by stability, enrollment has dropped about three percent over five years.
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Transitions in education are coming at all levels. President Trump wants to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education and restructure its functions. The Kansas State Board of Education is looking at changes in the requirements and expectations for students and schools. The Kansas Legislature is studying the current K-12 school finance formula, which expires in 2027 unless extended or replaced. As in every odd-numbered year, elections will be held for local school boards this fall.
In his executive order on the Department of Education, the President says the school system is failing, citing low standardized test scores. However, there are many more measures of education than test scores, and many of these show very different results. In fact, by measures of adult educational attainment and economic success, the United States and Kansas are at historic highs.
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Under a new school accreditation process taking effect in 2024-2025, Kansas districts are asked to focus on three specific outcomes: improving reading and math skills as measured by state assessments, raising graduation rates, and getting more students to earn a credential beyond high school.
These outcomes are important to both students and the state (and nation). Students who do better on state tests are more likely to graduate and have postsecondary success; almost all jobs now require at least a high school diploma; most jobs will also require an industry certification, technical certificate or academic degree; and each step in education on average means higher earnings and lower poverty rates.
A more educated population is a more prosperous population. I have explored districts that are performing exceptionally well on these measures and how they have succeeded. Data was collected from the Kansas State Department of Education on assessments, graduation rates, and postsecondary success for each public school district and the five state accredited private school systems. Since outside factors like family poverty and student disabilities impact results, I looked for districts that were performing substantially better than expected considering their percentage of high need students as well as district size.