By KLINT SPILLER

kspiller@dailynews.net

PLAINVILLE -- Plainville USD 270 Superintendent Beth Reust expressed concern about the future of public education in Kansas at a meeting with parents, faculty and community members.

Reust gave a presentation Monday evening at Plainville High School about the recent past and current situation of Plainville school finances and possible decisions in the Kansas Legislature that could affect rural public schools.

Reust said after enduring annual cuts to state aid, Plainville has had to make cutbacks across the board.

"It is a popular saying right now that we need to do more with less, and that is fine," Reust said. "But we have these fixed costs that don't change."

While revenue has decreased, Reust said most costs are fixed or increasing, such as electricity, motor fuel, vehicle repair, food and health insurance, so in order to combat the loss in revenue, the school district has had to make other cutbacks.

According to Reust, the district has cut multiple positions, including an elementary teacher, a middle school teacher, two high school teachers, a music teacher, three classroom aides and a secretary.

The district has reduced a technology position to part-time, cut down overtime, reduced electricity and gas bills, eliminated the baseball and tennis programs, cut some assistant coaching positions, reduced food costs, kitchen salaries and the Contingency Reserve Fund, gave no raises last year and purchased fewer technology items unless using a grant.

"You hear a lot in the public that we haven't cut anything, but that is not the case," Reust said.

Reust addressed Gov. Sam Brownback's school finance plan.

She said his "Hold Harmless" provision could lock the school district to funding levels that already were low.

"Whatever we didn't have this year, or next year, or whatever it happens to be, we'll have the same amount of money," Reust said. "That sounds good on the surface, but keep in mind, we are $350,000 down."

Though Brownback's plan aims to raise per-pupil aid from $3,780 to $4,492, the target number set by state law, Reust said it would result in a cutback to other areas, such as at-risk funding, the Parents as Teachers program and other special funds.

Reust said under Brownback's plan, increases and decreases in funding would be based purely on enrollment, so if the head count varied by 10 every year, the budget could fluctuate by approximately $45,000.

"We'd go up, and we'd go down based on that particular figure," she said.

Another part of the governor's budget plan would limit all carryover to 7.5 percent.

"We can't do that here," Reust said. "It would not give us enough money to make up the difference to be able to make your salaries and pay bills in this district. I'm hoping if pieces of this pass, some of the pieces don't."

Brownback's plan also would hold the State General Fund's increases at 2 percent, which Reust said would result in "very little increase that would be able to come into the school system."

Another component of Brownback's overall education plan would result in changes to career and technical education.

Reust said with the intention of not duplicating classes, Brownback's plan would not provide funding for vocational classes at a school if it is within 30 miles of a vocational school.

This means Plainville, which is 27 miles from North Central Kansas Technical College in Hays, would have to send its students for a 30-minute drive there and back.

Reust said the state would pay for the student's registration and transportation costs, but the transportation time would be a problem, eliminating time that could be spent for a student's elective courses.

"Consequently, it would pretty much knock out your band program or your vocal music program," she said. "I don't think that is good for the majority of students, but for those students who actually got the certificate, it would be pretty good."

Reust said it still is unclear what will happen with school financing, but she said parents and community members need to understand what is going on and talk to their legislators.

"Whether (the Legislature) goes with the governor's plan or the Democratic plan, we need to be talking about what we are going to do with the budget and where we are going to go with it because costs are not staying steady," Reust said. "They are going to increase, and if they increase, what are you willing to support? If you don't support any kind of tax increase ... then what more do we cut?"