Community members and faculty alike gathered in the cafeteria at Eisenhower Middle School to discuss possible solutions and modifications for the new school finance formula, as per request of Governor Sam Brownback.

Assistant Superintendent Eric Reid led the meeting with the intention of listening to what the Manhattan community wanted for its public education system in the years to come.

“The purpose of the meeting was to generate feedback to send to Topeka as the state level groups look to build a new school finance formula,” Reid said. “At our meeting, I shared what the Board of Education, administration and teacher’s association put together to send. At the meeting, people went through our document and asked questions while generating some ideas of their own.  We then encouraged them to give input as well. These were recommendations for the state to consider not USD 383 making decisions about school finance choices.”

Some main points in the new proposal included adjusting the two-and-a-half mile or above requirement for bus transportation to and from school, additional transition services in and out for military families, fully funding all-day kindergarten programs across the state, continued funding of extracurricular activities and several other things.

Members of the community did not want to see incentive schemes to support private schools, merit pay for teachers, any form of extraordinary needs funds that take money from school districts, or the prevention of spending for extracurricular activities in the new formula.