Civic Engagement: I serve on the RDA Board and am the current chair of Emporia Main Street Board of Directors (July-June). I also have the opportunity to represent the College on the Newman Regional Hospital Board and am an appointment by the City to the Emporia Public Library Board.

Flint Hills Technical College - Elected Officials: City, County, Representatives, Senators, etc. We will reconvene visits with elected officials through the fall semester. Legislative dialogues: Local Legislators and Committee Chairs. In working with Marketing, the College is updating a legislative booklet to share with state legislators December 11 in-person and by Zoom. I have invited chairs of education, ways and means, and higher ed budget committees to join our local officials for this conversation prior to the legislative session beginning January. In addition, the Kansas Technical College presidents on Thursday met with Senator Brad Starnes via Zoom to review technical college budget needs and review representation on a task force to review technical education sustainability and planning needs.

Technical Education Authority and KBOR. The December Kansas Technical College KBOR / TEA report is attached. These items align to KBOR's strategic plan.

KBOR Budget: Flint Hills Technical College. The budget includes these lines for FHTC through KBOR. Tiered and Non-Tiered Funding 2026. Funding continues (projected tiered $1,696,132 and non-tiered $813,079 [$2,509,211] -- Tiered and Non-Tiered 2025 was $2,486,819). Capital Outlay 2026. Projected $388,072 (2025 was $373,702). Operational Base Grant 2026. Critical positive: Secured in state statute. For 2026, the amount dropped to $1,000,000 from $1,500,000 in 2025. Cybersecurity/IT Infrastructure 2026. $250,000 eliminated. Apprenticeship/Business Engagement 2026. $200,280 for 2026; 2025 was $201,536.workforce initiatives. Student Success Initiative. Received $147,058, a reduction from 2025 of $99,577 (2025 was $246,635). Welcomed NEW Line: Kansas Campus Restoration Act: This line is a 6-year legislation that provides the College an additional $100,000 per year from 2026-2031. The legislature reduced the amount to a 2026 appropriation of $92,375.

KBOR budget discussions--2027 requests in process and refinement. The Kansas Technical College system presidents and the lobbyist are discussing with KBOR and legislators the allocation requests for the 2027 budget discussions. As was explained with employees at professional development on Wednesday, the College leadership is planning for some state cuts this year. This is what was submitted by KBOR. The first blush of the budget identified cuts for technical colleges (capital outlay is retained; tiered and non-tiered amounts are under review):

STATE AID APPROPRIATION FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26 FY27

Technical Colleges Operating Grants $0 $10,500,000 $10,500,000 $7,000,000 $0

Colleges' Cyber and IT Improvements $0 $6,500,000 $6,500,000 $0 $0

Apprenticeships/Business Partnerships $0 $14,300,000 $14,300,000 $14,300,000 $0

Student Success Initiatives $0 $0 $17,500,000 $10,500,000 $0 Share of Kansas Campus Restoration Act $0 $0 $0 $2,401,100 $2,600,000

We will present to the Technical Education Authority in March to showcase in what ways we used the base operating lines. In 2025, the legislature defined the base operating grant operations and its review process as this in HB 2195: "All expenditures from the Kansas technical college operating grant fund shall be for instruction and operations to meet target objectives established by the postsecondary technical education authority for each technical college's region and the entire state." Our use of the base operating grant funds will align to the TEA goals, which I have also attached. Discussions in these early stages suggest the BOG and apprenticeship lines would return. This table above represents the requests KBOR submitted.

Civic Engagement: I serve on the RDA Board and am the current chair of Emporia Main Street Board of Directors (July-June). I also have the opportunity to represent the College on the Newman Regional Hospital Board and am an appointment by the City to the Emporia Public Library Board.

Flint Hills Technical College - Elected Officials: City, County, Representatives, Senators, etc. We will reconvene visits with elected officials through the fall semester. Legislative dialogues: Local Legislators and Committee Chairs. In working with Marketing, the College is updating a legislative booklet to share with state legislators December 11 in-person and by Zoom. I have invited chairs of education, ways and means, and higher ed budget committees to join our local officials for this conversation prior to the legislative session beginning January. In addition, the Kansas Technical College presidents on Thursday met with Senator Brad Starnes via Zoom to review technical college budget needs and review representation on a task force to review technical education sustainability and planning needs.

Technical Education Authority and KBOR. The December Kansas Technical College KBOR / TEA report is attached. These items align to KBOR's strategic plan.

KBOR Budget: Flint Hills Technical College. The budget includes these lines for FHTC through KBOR. Tiered and Non-Tiered Funding 2026. Funding continues (projected tiered $1,696,132 and non-tiered $813,079 [$2,509,211] -- Tiered and Non-Tiered 2025 was $2,486,819). Capital Outlay 2026. Projected $388,072 (2025 was $373,702). Operational Base Grant 2026. Critical positive: Secured in state statute. For 2026, the amount dropped to $1,000,000 from $1,500,000 in 2025. Cybersecurity/IT Infrastructure 2026. $250,000 eliminated. Apprenticeship/Business Engagement 2026. $200,280 for 2026; 2025 was $201,536.workforce initiatives. Student Success Initiative. Received $147,058, a reduction from 2025 of $99,577 (2025 was $246,635). Welcomed NEW Line: Kansas Campus Restoration Act: This line is a 6-year legislation that provides the College an additional $100,000 per year from 2026-2031. The legislature reduced the amount to a 2026 appropriation of $92,375.

KBOR budget discussions--2027 requests in process and refinement. The Kansas Technical College system presidents and the lobbyist are discussing with KBOR and legislators the allocation requests for the 2027 budget discussions. As was explained with employees at professional development on Wednesday, the College leadership is planning for some state cuts this year. This is what was submitted by KBOR. The first blush of the budget identified cuts for technical colleges (capital outlay is retained; tiered and non-tiered amounts are under review):

STATE AID APPROPRIATION FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26 FY27

Technical Colleges Operating Grants $0 $10,500,000 $10,500,000 $7,000,000 $0

Colleges' Cyber and IT Improvements $0 $6,500,000 $6,500,000 $0 $0

Apprenticeships/Business Partnerships $0 $14,300,000 $14,300,000 $14,300,000 $0

Student Success Initiatives $0 $0 $17,500,000 $10,500,000 $0 Share of Kansas Campus Restoration Act $0 $0 $0 $2,401,100 $2,600,000

We will present to the Technical Education Authority in March to showcase in what ways we used the base operating lines. In 2025, the legislature defined the base operating grant operations and its review process as this in HB 2195: "All expenditures from the Kansas technical college operating grant fund shall be for instruction and operations to meet target objectives established by the postsecondary technical education authority for each technical college's region and the entire state." Our use of the base operating grant funds will align to the TEA goals, which I have also attached. Discussions in these early stages suggest the BOG and apprenticeship lines would return. This table above represents the requests KBOR submitted.

FHTC Board of Trustees

Meeting Information

Supporting Documents