The state's budget was the focus of a town hall meeting Tuesday afternoon at the Big Gage Shelterhouse.
More than 70 concerned Kansans attended the meeting, which was sponsored by the Big Tent Coalition, an association of organizations and individual advocates who want to enhance choices for home- and community-based services for disabled and elderly Kansans.
The second sponsor of the event was Kansans for Quality Communities, a coalition of organizations representing health care, people with disabilities and state workers.
"People are asking how we can strengthen and improve upon our community's quality resources for Kansans with physical or mental disabilities," said Mike Oxford, executive director of the Topeka Independent Living Resource Center. "They want to know how we can strengthen our community's investment in public education and how to best protect our investment in quality workforce and infrastructure."
Oxford was one of several speakers during the meeting. Nick Wood, with the Disability Rights Center of Kansas, provided an overview of the budget detailing cuts to education. He also discussed how budget reductions would impact public employees and their families. He highlighted the impacts for people with developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, mental illnesses, and for the elderly.
At noon Tuesday at the Big Gage Shelterhouse,
two statewide coalitions sponsored a town hall
meeting to discuss state budget cuts.
Nick Wood, front, with the Disability Rights
Center of Kansas, provided an overview of the
state budget detailing cuts to education and
discussed how budget reductions would impact
public employees and their families. He also
highlighted the impacts cuts would have for
people with developmental disabilities, physical
disabilities, mental illnesses and the elderly.
(Photo by Thad Allton, Capitol-Journal)
"We are taking a hit," Wood said to attendees.
Wood pointed out that for Kansans who have a severe mental illness and no insurance, the state funding to serve them has been cut by 65 percent.
"People don't stop needing help, but mental health centers are struggling financially to help them," he said.
A person with a mental health crisis will get help somewhere, Wood said. If not in a mental health center, then it most likely will be in a county jail, state prison, an emergency room or a state psychiatric hospital — all of which are more expensive than community-based treatment, he said.
Wood and speaker Matt Fletcher, with InterHab, urged attendees to contact their legislators and engage them in conversation about budget cuts.
Craig Kaberline, executive director of the Kansas Area Agencies on Aging Association, spoke about cutting funding for elderly programs.
"These services help them stay in their homes, where they want to be," he said. "They help them stay there with dignity."
Gov. Sam Brownback's budget proposes a $2.9 million cut to the frail elderly waiver, a $1.3 million cut to the senior care act, and a $300,000 cut to the senior meal program, according to information provided at the rally.
Mark Desetti, of the Kansas National Education Association, spoke about cuts to education.
"We will lose our top students, and we will lose our most challenging students," Desetti said.
Those are the students who will get hurt with the proposed cuts to education, he said.
"This is damaging to our state," Desetti said.
With budget cuts come fewer teachers, larger class sizes and less attention to children who may need it, speakers said.
"This is an opportunity for the voices of educators, state employees, students, family and community members and consumers of services to be heard," Desetti said. "These are the voices of those who know that the state Legislature has and likely will continue to cut far into these vital programs. These are the voices of those who work every day to build strong communities for every citizen of Kansas. As a group, we are standing with one voice in support of the Kansas quality of life."
Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, attended the meeting. One audience member said he was concerned that more people, including legislators, didn't show up for the town hall meeting.
Kelly agreed with the man but also said some legislators may have been busy Tuesday or didn't know of the event. However, she added, “a lot of people were sleeping in Kansas last November” when Kansans elected people who don't want to do anything but cut the budget.
The town hall meeting lasted about an hour and a half.
“Apart from the cuts we are facing for the 2012 budget year, we are more concerned about additional cuts at a higher level which are anticipated for 2013,” Oxford said.
Ann Marie Bush can be reached at (785) 295-1207 or ann.bush@cjonline.com.