Districts Build Special Education Funding Case

Wichita Manufacturers Plan $9 Million in Expansions

Barton County Backs Wildlife Rule Lawsuits

USDA Cuts Kansas Sorghum Forecast by One-Third

Black Sea Attack Lifts Wheat Futures

Districts Build Special Education Funding Case

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Four of Johnson County’s largest school districts have hired Lathrop GPM to prepare a case against Kansas over special education funding, although no lawsuit has been filed. Blue Valley, De Soto, Olathe and Shawnee Mission contend the state has failed for 15 years to meet a statutory requirement to cover 92% of special education “excess costs,” or spending above the per-pupil cost for other students. The districts said they diverted more than $119 million from their general education budgets in the 2024-25 school year to fill the gap. Lawmakers approved a $6 million increase this year, while about $225 million more would have been needed to reach the 92% target, and some legislators said they were not surprised by the districts’ move. The potential case could again put school funding before the courts. In Gannon v. State, filed by four school districts in 2010, the Kansas Supreme Court found the system failed constitutional tests for adequacy — whether overall funding was sufficient — and equity — whether districts had reasonably equal access to resources — prompting lawmakers to revise the formula and add hundreds of millions of dollars in annual aid.

KCTV5 · KCUR · Johnson County Post · KSN · FOX4KC

Wichita Manufacturers Plan $9 Million in Expansions

WICHITA, Kan. — The Greater Wichita Partnership announced Aug. 12 that two area manufacturers plan expansions worth more than $9 million and expect to add about 20 jobs in the near term. Cox Airparts LLC, a family-owned aircraft electrical and hydraulic component repair company, plans a $3 million, 20,000-square-foot facility at Maize Industrial Park in Sedgwick County, adding 10 employees soon and 20 to 40 over the next decade. Construction-products manufacturer Balco Inc. plans to expand operations at the 70,000-square-foot ICT 37 Industrial Campus, where it moved in February 2024, through a project valued at more than $6 million that is expected to increase production capacity by nearly 90%. The investment offers a measure of conditions among smaller suppliers as Wichita’s aerospace sector absorbs Boeing’s December 2025 reacquisition of Spirit AeroSystems and the $1.3 billion commitment to its Wichita site announced in May.

Greater Wichita Partnership · FOX Kansas · City of Maize · KSN

Barton County Backs Wildlife Rule Lawsuits

GREAT BEND, Kan. — The Barton County Commission voted 5-0 Tuesday to allow the Kansas Natural Resource Coalition to take part in two federal lawsuits defending the repeal of Endangered Species Act rules. One lawsuit concerns the federal definition of “harm,” which can make destroying a protected animal’s habitat illegal even if no animal is directly killed or injured. The other concerns a rule that automatically gave threatened species many of the same protections as endangered species. Commissioners Duane Reif and Donna Zimmerman said the rules could bring ordinary work, including oil production and roadside ditch maintenance, under federal review. County Administrator Matt Patzner said participation will not cost the coalition or its member counties, so the vote commits the county’s name and position rather than money. No court has ruled on either repeal, and the outcome could affect oil and gas work, renewable-energy projects, grazing and road maintenance across the lesser prairie chicken’s range in western and central Kansas.

Great Bend Post

USDA Cuts Kansas Sorghum Forecast by One-Third

MANHATTAN, Kan. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast Kansas sorghum production at 167.5 million bushels in its Aug. 12 Crop Production report, down from the 252 million bushels harvested in 2025. The projected average yield fell to 67 bushels per acre from 90 a year earlier, while planted acreage declined to 2.7 million from 3 million. Nationally, the forecast fell by about 84 million bushels from July to 296.4 million as the projected yield dropped 13.9 bushels to 55.4 bushels per acre, a downgrade the agency tied to drought in parts of the Plains. The report projected a 16 billion-bushel corn crop, the second-largest on record, based on a first survey-based yield of 180.7 bushels per acre, while a companion report lowered 2026 beef production and fed-cattle price forecasts for late 2026 and 2027. The estimates are based on farmer surveys and field counts conducted around Aug. 1 and will be revised monthly through the fall, and the national sorghum forecast has already shifted by more than 80 million bushels in one month. The sharp cut carries particular weight in Kansas, the nation’s leading sorghum state, because producers use the drought-tolerant crop as Ogallala aquifer allocations tighten and are also contending with a poor wheat year and softer cattle prices.

USDA NASS · Brownfield Ag News · Oklahoma Farm Report · RFD-TV

Black Sea Attack Lifts Wheat Futures

NOVOROSSIYSK, Russia — Chicago wheat futures rose about 3% Wednesday after a Ukrainian attack disrupted Russia’s main Black Sea grain port at Novorossiysk, killing three people and wounding 24, according to the regional governor. Ukraine said the attack also damaged several Russian naval vessels, a claim Moscow has not confirmed. Two major grain terminals at the port were reported out of service. In occupied Crimea, Russian-installed Sevastopol Gov. Mikhail Razvozhayev said more than three dozen drones were downed, about 10 apartment buildings and 25 houses were damaged, and a Russian military installation caught fire. Because Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter and ships most of its grain through Novorossiysk, disruption there can move the benchmark prices followed by Kansas wheat growers and buyers, as well as food manufacturers that depend on Black Sea grain, as Ukraine broadens its attacks to export infrastructure that funds Russia’s war.

Al Jazeera · The Moscow Times · Ukrinform

Sources

1. KCTV5 / KCUR / Johnson County Post / KSN / FOX4KC / Johnson County Post
2. Greater Wichita Partnership / FOX Kansas / City of Maize / KSN
3. Great Bend Post / Great Bend Post
4. USDA NASS / Brownfield Ag News / Oklahoma Farm Report / RFD-TV
5. Al Jazeera / The Moscow Times / Ukrinform

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