It's only two months away from election day. Supporters of increased education funding are working hard to make sure the vote goes their way.

Between January 1 and July 24, more than a dozen political action committees that advocate for public school spending contributed at least $182,000 to like-minded candidates and organizations, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission.

In addition, Gov. Sebelius’ Bluestem Fund doled out $73,862 to candidates and organizations partly on the basis of their position on education spending.

The education-related PACS had significant cash on hand – almost $300,000 – at the close of the reporting period on July 24.

It won't be known until new reports are filed how much of that amount might have been spent between July 24 and the Aug. 5 primary elections, or how much the groups will have on hand to elect candidates who support higher education spending. It could be a significant amount. Sebelius’ PAC, for example, had $271,271 cash on hand as of July 24.

The Kansas NEA PAC was by far the most prolific giver leading into the primary season. The teachers union PAC spent $160,212 and still had $253,490 on hand at the end of the reporting period.

Other relatively large contributors included:

• The Kansas Alliance for Education, which is affiliated with the liberal MAINstream Coalition and Kansans for a Traditional Republican Majority, spent $14,163 and had cash on hand of $1,928.
• Kansas Families for Education, another group in the coalition that includes the Kansas Alliance for Education, spent $4,474 and had cash on hand of $10,700.
• Unified Teachers of Wichita spent $2,016 and had $1,210 on hand.

The PACs campaign activities come despite a massive infusion of cash into the public school system. The state anticipates it will spend $3.2 billion, more than half its general fund budget, on K-12 spending during the current fiscal year, up $892 million since FY 2005, when increased spending ordered by the Kansas Supreme Court began to kick in.

House Speaker Melvin Neufeld has indicated that he hopes the Legislature will be able to protect that increase, though he is warning that revenue estimates haven’t met expectations, and that lawmakers might have no option but to reduce it.

In addition, the state, beginning in FY 2010, will be required to continue hiking education spending by at least the rate of inflation. During its last session, the Legislature set aside $37 million to help cover that cost, but the state's department of education has reported it could take $106 million just to keep pace with inflation.

So far, there's little indication the increased spending is having an effect on test scores and other outcomes. A report last week in Kansas Liberty disclosed that the state's standardized college placement scores were in decline.

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