Senate SEEK cuts: the per-pupil impact

For the 2011-12 school year, the Kentucky Senate has voted for SEEK cuts would take away:

• An average of $65 per pupil for each Kentucky K-12 students.
• $28 per student in the Anchorage Independent schools.
• $97 per student in the Owsley County schools.
• Amounts in between the Anchorage number and the Owsley number in each other district.

Those cuts were voted on as an amendment to House Bill 305, the current legislature's effort to deal with a Medicaid funding shortfall. On Wednesday, the Senate amended the bill include across-the-board cuts to many parts of the state budget, including the SEEK formula that provides Kentucky's main funding for K-12 education. Thursday, the House rejected the amendments, which means the bill is almost certain to go to a conference committee that will work out what will actually happen.  That is, what the Senate voted on is not necessarily going to be the final outcome.

For number lovers, my figures are based on the district cut projections KSBA published yesterday, divided by the estimated  average daily attendance data KDE is currently using for 2011-12 SEEK forecasts.  I've also prepared a four-page PDF file showing the per-pupil reduction for each district in the state: to download that, click here.

For readers following school funding closely, my numbers above and in the PDF document show only the potential per-pupil cuts from to the most recent Senate action.  SEEK funding for next year will also be reduced to deal with a previous shortfall, and districts are already adjusting their budgets to handle that change.  The numbers here do not include that earlier shortfall.