What the Sunflower Education Equity Act could mean for rural districts

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Sign or veto. A bill is heading to Kansas Governor Laura Kelly’s desk.

Inside the Sunflower Education Equity Act is a school-choice option some are calling controversial. It would create educational savings accounts that families could use the money for home or private schools.

“The education savings school voucher, however you want to frame it the bill is an anti-public education bill,” said Tyson Eslinger, Deerfield USD 216 Superintendent.

Deerfield is one of the rural public school districts in western Kansas. While there are few, if any, private schools around them, rural districts could still lose students.

“It also has a mechanism that allows the creation of very small schools,” explained Representative Jason Probst.

Eslinger says that brings other concerns, “Somebody could go open up a school in an orphan building and call it a school, and people started sending their kids there, and there’s no accountability to what’s happening there or how the money’s being spent.”

Less students equal fewer funds.

“The fastest way and the biggest way for us to save money is we have to eliminate staff, and so if we lose students, then we lose staff,” Eslinger said.

Supporters say this is about options.

“You can choose where you get your haircut, or you can choose to go to higher education anywhere, but the K-12, you don’t. And, where there is a monopoly of money, there is required accountability,” said Representative Kristey Williams, (R) Augusta.

But others are concerned that choice pulls money from the entire community.

“When there’s a reduction in funding overall for education. We start seeing school consolidation, and what we know happens in rural Kansas is when a school closes the city or the town and follows pretty closely behind,” Probst said.

“When you drive through a community, and the school is no longer there. there’s really not a community there anymore,” Eslinger added in.

Governor Kelly has not said if she will sign the bill. If she vetoes it, lawmakers currently do not have the votes to override.