Kansas House Speaker Mike O’Neal, a Hutchinson Republican, said with Kansas facing gaping budget holes in the next two years, it’s time for the Legislature to get creative in looking for ways to cut costs.

“The bad news is we’re facing a budget crisis,” O’Neal told Kansas Liberty Friday. “The good news is we have a two-year window of opportunity to look at doing things fundamentally differently. If we don’t have the will to do it now with the budget situation the state is in, then we will have missed a golden opportunity.”

O’Neal said he would like to see lawmakers, when they convene later this month, at least begin discussing two possible initiatives – one that would study the feasibility of consolidating school district administrators and another that would make it easier for cities, counties and other units of government to consolidate services.

O’Neal was quick to point out that he was not advocating consolidation of school districts – that’s a political non-starter. In fact, he says, under his plan, there would be no necessity of re-drawing districts.

“The beauty is there would be no consolidation of school districts,” he said. “There  would be no changes in boundaries, schools wouldn’t close as a result, kids wouldn’t have to travel further to school and team mascots could stay the same.”

What would change is the number of administrators required to manage districts.

“Huge amounts of money could be saved,” O’Neal said. He pointed out that in Reno County, the home of Hutchinson, there are six different school districts, each with superintendents and other administrators drawing robust salaries.

He said he believed that schools in Reno County, or in other Kansas counties, would not suffer diminished performance if some administrative positions and functions were consolidated.

“I can’t put a number on it, but the savings to the state general fund would be significant,” he said. “And, if we reduce the cost of administration, we don’t affect the instructional side. Even the most liberal educator will say that about 65 percent of educational funding goes directly to the classroom. So, if we cut administration, we wouldn’t affect the ability of Johnny and Suzie to learn.”

The idea has been raised before, O’Neal said, but no action has been taken. He cited an administrative reorganization plan authored several years ago by educators, including a teacher in USD 308 located in Hutchinson, who said the number of K-12 administrators in Kansas could be reduced from 300-some to about 40.

“I agree we need good, strong school district leaders to get results, and if you cut too many administrators, you’re cutting into the meat, but you have to wonder if we need the kind of overlap we’re seeing,” he said.

O’Neal said he would challenge the chair of the House Education Committee, Rep. Clay Aurand, a Courtland Republican “to put a proposal on the table this session.”

“We need to at least start to vet these issues,” O’Neal said, in order to get a handle on the type of savings that could be realized.

“We have to start this year at the latest,” O’Neal added. “One way or another, we’ll get the deficit filled in the current fiscal year, but next year, the deficit will be deep and wide and we need to be ready to address that. We can’t wait another year.”

Aurand could not be reached Friday to comment on the possible initiative.

O’Neal said work already had begun on a second initiative – simplifying the process for cities, counties and others governmental units to consolidate services and positions.

As it stands, in order for local governments to consolidate services, they must first seek the blessing of the Legislature.

“I would like to see us break down the legislative barriers to voluntary consolidation of local units of government,” O’Neal said.

He said, just like Kansas and other states, cities and counties here are facing serious budget issues. Overland Park, for example, for years a model of economic prosperity, will prepare a budget this summer that for the first time in the city’s history will reflect declines in both property tax and in sales tax revenues.

“I would think the budget situations that local governments face might give them some impetus to look at  consolidation,” O’Neal said.

Consolidations have occurred in the past, notably the consolidation of the Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., governments. And, late last year, the city of Tribune consolidated with Greeley County, after first winning legislative approval for the change.

Rep. Gary Hayzlett, a Lakin Republican, carried the bill that allowed the consolidation to proceed.

“I think consolidation of services is a good idea, particularly in smaller counties,” Hayzlett said.

O’Neal said the Legislature tended to get bogged down on philosophical issues when considering requests by local governments to consolidate services.

When Riley County and the city of Manhattan expressed a desire to consolidate law enforcement functions into a single department, the Legislature obsessed over whether the elected sheriff or the appointed police chief would function as the area’s top law enforcement officer.

“Most days I’m in the camp that says we shouldn’t be eliminating elected positions, but that’s not an issue for the Legislature to decide,” O’Neal said. “That’s an issue to be resolved at the local level.”

O’Neal said there was a huge potential for cost savings inherent in consolidation, though he said those savings would not be reflected in the state’s general fund.

“The last time I looked into this two or three years ago, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility to have saved about $1 billion,” he said. “That’s not state general fund money, but it’s still money that comes from Kansas taxpayers.”

O’Neal said he believed a bill would be introduced this session that would in some form allow local governments to consider consolidation without seeking legislative permission. Such a bill might also include some state incentives for local governments that execute consolidation plans.

“I’ll champion the legislation,” he said, though he said he was unsure whether he would personally sponsor a bill or whether a bill would emanate from a Legislative committee.

He said chamber officials in Hutchinson, including chamber Executive Director Dave Kerr, a former legislative colleague of O’Neal’s, had indicated the chamber might come up with model legislation that would simplify the process for consolidating services provided by local governments.

- Phil LaCerte

The Week in Review