Governor Laura Kelly signs and line-item vetoes aspects of House Substitute for Senate Bill 113, the bill containing the budget for K-12 education.
 With her line-item vetoes, the bill fully funds K-12 education for the fifth consecutive year and protects funding for rural schools facing declining enrollment.

 In addition to funding schools in accordance with the state constitution, the version of SB 113 Governor Kelly signed also improves school safety by including $5 million so schools can purchase communication equipment to better coordinate with law enforcement and purchase naloxone to combat fentanyl poisoning.

 The bill includes $1.8 million to support teacher professional development and $1.3 million for a program that provides teachers early in their careers with mentors to support their professional growth, and gives students the technical skills for a modern economy by including $1.5 million to transport students to career and technical education opportunities, $1 million to ensure more students learn computer science, and $40,000 for a pilot program expanding the ways students can receive career and technical education credentials.

 Governor Kelly line-item vetoed appropriations in SB 113 that would have changed the school finance formula that determines the amount of funding annually appropriated by the state to public schools. Kelly says the provision would have risked the state’s compliance with constitutional funding requirements and could have resulted in rural schools having to cut services or close buildings.

 Governor Kelly’s full message to the Legislature and more information about her line-item vetoes can be found in the online version of this story here.