A cavernous budget gap imperils Kansas. Lawmakers plan on filling it with helpless schoolchildren.

Posted March 2, 2026

Senator Troy Waymaster, R-Bunker Hill, listened to the governor's proposed budget for fiscal year 2027 during a joint committee meeting of the House Appropriations and Senate Ways and Means committees.

Rep. Troy Waymaster, R-Bunker Hill, listens to the governor's proposed budget for fiscal year 2027 during a joint committee meeting of the House Appropriations and Senate Ways and Means committees. (Photo by Morgan Chilson/Kansas Reflector)

Troy Waymaster spilled the beans.

The Bunker Hill Republican, speaking as the House passed its budget blueprint for the next year, all but admitted that Republicans plan to target K-12 school funding to balance the budget. Not this year, but soon.

Statehouse scraps

Opinion editor Clay Wirestone’s weekly roundup of Kansas legislative exploits. Read the archive.

Kansas now spends about a half-billion dollars more annually than it collects in taxes. We can thank recent rounds of GOP-driven tax cuts that benefit the wealthiest among us. When the bill comes due, school kids will pay the price.

Waymaster said during debate that this year’s budget was just a first step. Next session, he called for “necessary changes” to the K-12 school funding formula. In other words, legislators better preserve those tasty tax handouts for millionaires while choking off dollars to educate the next generation.

“Are we going to be able to cut it? No, but I think there are some parameters that can be put in place so it’s not just a continual large increase that goes into K-12 annually,” Waymaster said.

That’s so much doublespeak. Everyone understands how inflation works. If spending on schools stays flat, or fails to keep up with costs, that leaves the education system poorer.

The biggest unspoken question in Kansas politics recently has been how lawmakers intended to fill the gaping budget hole that will soon push Kansas into the red. You can go after universities and family assistance programs, but those only go so far.

The state spends serious money on schools. Republican leaders have suggested over the past couple of years they want to pare back education spending. No one has said so outright, of course. You just have to put two and two together. Lawmakers have refused to fully fund special education. A high-profile task force meant to rewrite the state’s education funding formula ended up taking a pass — perhaps realizing it was better not to campaign on draconian cuts in an election year.

Waymaster, as the saying goes, just came right out and said it.

The question for Kansans will be whether they accept or support these cuts. Voters might not like taxes or big-spending politicians, but they absolutely hate the idea of kids’ futures being curtailed because lawmakers can’t make tough decisions in Topeka.

Folks still remember former Gov. Sam Brownback’s failure. Who among us yearns for a repeat?

Former Emporia State University President Ken Hush was spotted at the Kansas Statehosue in January.

Former Emporia State University president Ken Hush as spotted at the Kansas Statehouse in January. (Photo by Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

Colleges dodge bullet

Speaking of education, what happened to those university budget cuts we were promised?

The Legislative Coordinating Council hired disgraced former Emporia State University president Ken Hush to find cost savings in the Kansas higher education system. His sweetheart $10,000-per-month contract runs through May.

Apparently, he didn’t find much. Despite committee recommendations, the House budget as passed doesn’t include cuts to state universities. Instead, it tied a slice of funding ($2 million apiece for the six Board of Regents institutions) to limits on diversity, equity and inclusion instruction.

“I find it offensive,” said Rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence, during floor debate. “I stand before you a proud woman of color. I am saddened that some feel that there is no need to know about other races, their history, their contributions to the United States.”

I won’t argue with that. Still, given the thunderous trumpeting of the Knucklehead Caucus about woke universities earlier session, this sure looks like a reversal.

Perhaps any significant changes will have to wait until Hush takes over as regents president and CEO. I kid, I kid.

But do I really?

Trans people and their supporters rally Feb. 6, 2026, at the Statehouse. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Anti-trans turmoil

On to Senate Bill 244, the anti-trans legislation that made national headlines for a couple of days this week before being swept away by military action in Iran.

I think it’s safe to say that implementation of the law has been a gigantic mess. Some trans Kansans received letters saying they had to update their driver’s licenses right away. Others haven’t received the letters yet.

Reporting from the Kansas City Star’s Matthew Kelly suggests that school districts and municipalities don’t quite know what the law means for them yet. They appear to be moving carefully and examining requirements for multiple-occupancy private spaces.

Meanwhile, independent journalist (and Kansas Reflector pal) Marisa Kabas reports that an internal Department of Motor Vehicles email states: “Currently, KDOR has not ‘invalidated’ any records for people who were sent letters.”

I have a lot of questions — from executive, legislative and judicial angles. I don’t want to get too far ahead of current information, so I’ll refrain from speculation.

However, the current morass makes the lawsuit filed by two trans men in Douglas County look compelling. Scenes of confusion and incomprehension across Kansas give any judge ample justification for an injunction.

Rep. John Carmichael speaks in opposition to the anti-trans law during a Jan. 28, 2026, session of the House. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

SB 244 constitutionality

On the subject of that court case, it’s worth circling back to debate on the House floor over SB 244 last month. Democratic Reps. John Carmichael of Wichita and Lindsay Vaughn of Overland Park pointed out that supporters fear parts of the bill are unconstitutional.

During that debate, a severability clause was added to the legislation. Republican Rep. Bob Lewis, a Garden City attorney, introduced that amendment.

Carmichael took vivid note: “The only reason you need a severability clause in a statute is if you think parts of your statute are unconstitutional and will be overturned by the court. Severability is the concept that even if part of the bill is found to be unconstitutional, the entire bill does not go down, the court will sever the unconstitutional portions of the legislation from the constitutional provisions if it is, in fact, able to do so. So it’s often referred to as what’s known as a savings clause, because it saves your constitutionally infirm bill.”

Vaughn added her two cents: “Just to summarize, if this passes, and this is litigated, which it will be, because it’s unconstitutional, let this be proof that the proponents of this bill know that it’s unconstitutional, too.”

I’m sure Douglas County judges will take note of these comments as well.

Kansas Reflector senior reporter Morgan Chilson, shown working in the Statehouse on Feb. 6, 2026, has covered the progress of SB 244 and its effects. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

SB 244 coverage

The law went into effect Thursday, as expected, and the driver’s license fracas gained national attention. I saw coverage in the New York Times, the Guardian, USA Today, Reuters, NPR and a plentitude of other outlets.

On progressive social media, the reaction was predictably furious. Who knew that something like this was going on? commenters asked.

Kansas Reflector readers did. We’ve been covering SB 244 since October, when Republican leaders made clear they intended to pursue legislative action over driver’s licenses. If your family and friends and family don’t know about Kansas Reflector, please share the good word.

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Comprehensive coverage

After the initial rush of national coverage Thursday, I assembled this list of Reflector stories and commentary about the bill from last year into this. Take a look, and we’ll see you next week.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.