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The Blue Valley School District provided written testimony to the Senate Committee on Education and the House Committee on Financial Institutions and Pensions in support of transferring teachers from the KPERS 3 cash balance plan to the KPERS 2 plan. 

• As the local economy continues to grow, Blue Valley often finds itself competing with local school districts, Missouri districts, and the private sector for employees. 

• Blue Valley School District employees over 3400 FTEs, including 2,026 certified employees. By offering robust retirement plans, Blue Valley can hire and retain quality educators to continue delivering exceptional educational opportunities.

Read the full testimony, Senate Committee on Education 

Read the full testimony, House Committee on Financial Institutions and Pensions

The Blue Valley School District provided written testimony to the House Committee regarding the K-12 Education Budget. Superintendent Dr. Tonya Merrigan encouraged the committee to look for corrective and collaborative solutions to address the educational needs of at-risk students.

• Kansas does not fully fund district costs’ for at-risk students. Over the past 5 years, the district has had to use anywhere from $1.5 million to $3 million from general funds or other resources to support these expenses.

• State funding will be lowered for districts who do not reach 75% proficiency for at-risk students in state assessments. In Blue Valley, the percentage of students who achieved a level 3 or 4 on state assessments is 56.5% for ELA and 55.8% for Math for the 2022-2023 school year.

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The Blue Valley School District provided written testimony to the Legislative Special Education Task Force charged with examining special education funding models and making a recommendation. Superintendent Dr. Tonya Merrigan urged support of funding special education excess costs for all districts, at the 92% level set in statute. 

• The state’s reimbursement rate currently accounts for only 63.1% of special education services' expenses. 

• This funding inadequacy means that the first $12 million of the state’s base aid per pupil funding is diverted from the district’s general fund to supplement special education spending, leaving fewer dollars to increase educator salaries, provide benefits and pay utilities.

Read the full testimony.