COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Megan Newlon aboard Langtrees CD wins her third World’s Greatest Versatility Ranch Horse title decisively at the National Versatility Ranch Horse Association National Finals held Sept. 24-26 at the Lancaster Event…
Gov. Laura Kelly appointed, from left, Wint Winter, Cynthia Lane and Carl Ice to the Kansas Board of Regents to replace three appointees of former Gov. Sam Brownback. (Submitted)
TOPEKA Gov. Laura Kelly moved to place a larger imprint Wednesday on the Kansas Board of Regents by naming a retired railroad executive, a prominent educator and a former Republican legislator to the state’s higher education governance board.
The latest nominees combined with three members appointed during 2019 provide the Democratic governor with a majority on the nine-member board. State law requires selections to undergo Senate confirmation. No political party can have more than five members on the bipartisan board, which has direct responsibility for six public universities and oversight of a network of community and technical colleges as well as Washburn University.
Board of Regents may raise community college-to-university credit transfer cap kansasreflector.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kansasreflector.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Kansas Statehouse in Topeka
The Kansas Legislature has passed a budget that includes an additional $25 million for higher education, a “big sigh of relief,” according to one Kansas Board of Regents member.
Matt Casey, director of government relations for the Regents, shared the “good news” in his legislative update during Wednesday’s Regents meeting. Gov. Laura Kelly’s proposed budget, which was published earlier this year, had included a $27 million cut to higher education. The budget approved by the Legislature includes an additional $24.9 million to higher education.
The Legislature’s budget is not set, however. Kelly would need to sign it for it to become law.
Faced with the prospect of having the decision made for them, the Kansas Board of Regents on Wednesday voted to commit to spending a proposed $10.3 million discretionary fund, if approved by the Kansas Legislature, on much-needed maintenance and upgrades for aging university facilities.
As part of her proposed budget for the 2022 fiscal year, Gov. Laura Kelly partially offset a $37.4 general fund reduction for state universities with a proposed $10.3 million allocation to the regents to distribute at their discretion. The $10.3 million allocation was calculated as the budget increase university funding would have seen, if university employees had otherwise been included in Kelly’s plan to give state employees a 2.5% salary increase.