There is no question of the uncertainty surrounding K-12 finances throughout the state of Kansas. Topeka already has reduced funding approved by the Legislature for this year; more cuts could be in the offing; lawsuits have been filed in an attempt to increase funding; state revenues continue to lag behind projections.

In Hays USD 489, administrators have identified 52 possible general fund reductions and six potential revenue enhancements should the need arise.

On the revenue side, one of the possibilities already has been rejected by voters. That was raising the Local Option Budget to 31 percent. Another fund-generator -- pay to play -- recently was rejected by the school board. That leaves increasing building use fees (which can't amount to much), increasing enrollment (which doesn't appear likely), increase or initiate gate fees at all activities (which couldn't amount to much either), and consolidating the Hays, Ellis and Victoria districts into one. No dollar amount is affixed to the consolidation idea, but presumably there would be the elimination of some administrative positions. We will revisit that notion in a moment.

The 52 expense-reduction items are not prioritized and are across the board both in scope and dollar amounts. They range from saving $4,000 in electricity usage by removing all personal items from classrooms to $2.25 million by eliminating all health insurance for district employees. Other possible reductions identified include: $500,000 by eliminating block scheduling; $1 million by closing Kennedy Middle School; $513,000 by eliminating all athletic programs; $1,500 by eliminating TB and Hepatitis B shots for staff; and $3,000 by eliminating background checks.

The school board has not discussed this list as a whole yet -- we're assuming because of the uncertainty of state funding. Yet the board already has begun removing specific items from the list.

A few months ago, the board examined scaling back kindergarten to half-days or charging parents for the non-reimbursed portion of a full day. The estimated $300,000 in savings was rejected by the board.

Last week when BOE members extended administrators' current contracts, it took a few more items off the list:

* Reduce central office administration, $114,000;

* Eliminate administrator cell phone allowance, $10,800; and

* 1 percent salary reduction for all staff, $140,000.

When the board extends all the building administrators next, which is expected, the "combining building administration" comes off the list along with its associated $484,000 savings.

We're unsure of the message being sent here. On the one hand, five of seven board members gave their thumbs up to the job Superintendent Fred Kaufman and his top administrators are doing. That's a 70-percent approval rating.

But by locking in all the top positions and their salaries, the administrators will be immune from future expense reductions. Any cuts will be borne by teachers, students and staff further down the totem pole. If any ship goes down, Kaufman and his team won't be on it. They will be sitting safely in the lifeboat.

We find it difficult to believe school board members would protect administrators while potentially increasing the vulnerability of teachers. The elected officials must be confident more funding will appear from Topeka. For the sake of those in the classroom, we hope that confidence is well-founded. We certainly don't share it.

Editorial by Patrick Lowry

plowry@dailynews.net