Gov. Sam Brownback and legislative leaders will weigh a request from the Wichita school district for extra money to help students arriving as refugees from war-torn countries.
The State Finance Council, which is chaired by the governor and includes lawmakers from both parties, took no action on the district’s request for nearly $1 million to offer language and emotional support to students arriving from Somalia, Myanmar and other countries when it met in August. The council will take up the issue Monday.
Many of the students arrive with limited English skills and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
“It’s important to remember that they are fleeing persecution and war and oftentimes they have lived in circumstances where they have not had education available to them,” said Diane Gjerstad, spokeswoman for the district. “We want to catch them up. We want to make certain that they are fluent in English and they are able to be successful in their new country.”
The district is seeking money from the state’s extraordinary need fund, which was created after the Legislature decided to eliminate the state’s school finance formula and fund districts through block grants during the last legislative session.
