Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives Melvin Neufeld today said he is impressed with the governor’s spirit of cooperation to address deferred maintenance at Kansas state universities and community colleges.

“I am pleased to see Gov. Sebelius agrees with House Republicans that paying off debt to free up current revenue is good fiscal policy and supports the adoption of our amendment to SB 30,” Speaker Neufeld said. 

The Kansas House of Representatives voted last week to use unexpected revenue to pay off approximately $76.6 million in remaining debt from the Crumbling Classrooms initiative.  That action would free up about $15 million a year for the Education Building Fund.

Speaker Neufeld said he was intrigued with the proposal to provide the Board of Regents access to low-interest loans.

“I support the governor’s proposal to have the Regents schools accept some of the responsibility of current maintenance expenses as well as the cost of maintenance of future construction.  I also think we should look at expanding that access to low-interest loans to community colleges that face $150 million in deferred maintenance expenses as well.”

The Speaker said he has grave concerns about the governor’s proposed policy to increase tolls collected by the Kansas Turnpike Authority

“I am apprehensive about a policy that would take money from KTA to pay for building maintenance.  I believe transportation funds should not be used for purposes other than transportation,” explained Neufeld. “We will need to take a closer look at that proposal as well as look at other ways to achieve that goal.  We also still need to hear from the Board of Regents on their list of priorities.”

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