Editorial: State payroll should never be in jeopardy

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Tax refunds and paychecks for Kansas employees were called into question Tuesday during a political faceoff in Topeka. Republican legislative leaders issued an ultimatum to Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius that could have ultimately ended in withheld paychecks for state employees this Friday. The University employs more than 10,000 state employees.

In a routine proposal, Sebelius wanted to move funds from full state accounts to another, in order to meet bill payments in a timely manner. Monday, Sebelius was told this would not be allowed unless she signed the 2009 budget bill.

This is a bill she had previously vetoed because of the detrimental effects it would have on Kansas education.

Republican legislators used the urgency of the issue to get their bill passed with complete disregard to what it meant for Kansas employees.

Sebelius signed the bill late Tuesday evening to settle the dispute but reduced the amount of money to be cut from schools.

Sebelius said in a statement released Monday, “Through their refusal to act today, the Republican legislative leadership is jeopardizing our citizens’ pocketbooks for no other reason than to play political games — games in which the only ones set to lose are Kansas families, workers and schools.”

The senate president’s response to the accusations that paychecks were being threatened contradicted the governor’s opinion.

“I don’t think that paychecks were ever in jeopardy,” Senate President Steve Morris, (R-Hugoton), said. “The governor chose to spin it that way. She has other mechanisms to meet payroll.”

Yet Morris and Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt were quoted in a Lawrence-Journal World article Tuesday as saying that a meeting needed to be convened, “so that taxpayers can get their refunds and state employees can be paid on time.”

Republican leaders should never have used the paychecks of Kansas workers as a bargaining chip in their political strategy.

Sebelius should have been allotted more time to review the proposed budget bill; this ultimatum was a rush to pass something still permeated with harmful flaws.

Gerald E. Mikkelson, professor of Russian language, literature and culture, expressed his concern.

“Student government should be involved,” Mikkelson said. “We all need to put pressure on these people to not give up on the schoolchildren of the state.” Republican legislative leaders in Kansas should not be allowed to treat the livelihoods of constituents, including the 5,000 student employees at the University, as an insignificant factor in their decision-making.

The paychecks are how many of us pay for rent, food and utilities. To ensure that a similar situation does not occur again, students should contact their representative as a voice of dissent against politics interfering with subsistence.

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