About half of the state's scheduled aid payments to public schools have been delayed because of concerns about a short-term cash crunch. Deputy State Budget Director Elaine Frisbie said today (TUE) that 98 million dollars in payments - which would normally have reached Kansas school districts yesterday (MON) - won't get to them until the end of this week. Blake west is president of the Kansas branch of the National Education Association. He says school districts often rely on reserves to pay bills when state payments are delayed, but those reserves are dwindling.
It's the first time since the fiscal year began July 1st, that the state has delayed aid payments to its 293 school districts. The state regularly delayed funds during the previous fiscal year.