Kansas State School for the Blind seeks support for dorm roof, small capital and pay parity amid tight budget

The Kansas State School for the Blind asked the Legislature’s budget committee on Wednesday for help replacing a leaking dormitory roof and for modest capital and operating support as the school expands outreach services statewide.

John Harding, superintendent of the Kansas State School for the Blind, said the school serves more than 800 students statewide through outreach and about 65 students on campus. Harding told the Joint Committee on the State Budget that he was asking principally for support to replace the Edlund Dormitory and adjacent dining hall roof and for continued pay parity for teaching staff.

“Kansas State School for the Blind … we have about 65 students on campus,” Harding said. “We are asking for your support for that dormitory roof.”

Jennifer Light, a fiscal analyst with the Kansas Legislative Research Department, walked members through the agency’s budget packet and explained how the special committee on the state budget altered the agency request. Light said the special committee withdrew most enhancement requests from the legislative‑led bill. The agency’s FY2027 request included two enhancements for the School for the Blind: the Edlund dorm and dining hall roof replacement (about $718,000 from the State Institutions Building Fund) and an $87,000 increase to the agency’s capital rehab and repair base to account for inflation. Those enhancement items were not included in the special committee’s recommendations.

Light also told the committee the legislative recommendation and the governor’s recommendation differed primarily because the special committee removed enhancement requests. She said salaries and wages account for roughly 63.8% of the agency’s request and capital improvements about 21.5%.

“The majority of this increase is due to the updated teacher salary schedule,” Light said, noting that statutory pay‑parity provisions for the School for the Blind and School for the Deaf keep those salary adjustments in the legislative numbers despite a global deletion of salary increases elsewhere.

Light described other, non‑enhancement items in the agency request that appear in both the governor’s recommendation and the legislative bill: a $100,000 fee‑fund request for a wheelchair‑accessible vehicle to convey students to appointments and activities and roughly $202,000 SIBF for campus maintenance and repair priorities such as security systems, HVAC work and window replacement.

Committee members asked for follow‑up details about available capital balances and how statewide SIBF priorities are allocated. Light said capital requests are reviewed by the Joint Committee on State Building Construction and that the SIBF is funded by a mill levy that is scheduled to be replaced by transfers from the SGF beginning in FY2027.

Harding emphasized program growth and efficiency, saying the school has expanded outreach without asking for proportionally more state funding and that local fundraising will seek additional support for a proposed career and technical education program targeted to students who are blind.

The hearing closed with the committee noting written testimony from liaisons to the Kansas State Board of Education; no formal vote was taken at the session.