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Local coverage of education issues, health care, and science and technology.

Lawmakers To Tour University Campuses

A group of Kansas lawmakers will begin visiting college and university campuses this week to talk budget issues. The visits come in the wake of nearly $50 million in budget cuts over two years passed by legislators.

Lawmakers have said they want to talk to university officials about efficiency and how they spend money.

Gov. Sam Brownback, who opposed the funding cuts, says he wants lawmakers to learn more about the role of higher education in Kansas and the impact of the cuts.

“These are complex institutions," says Brownback. "They have funds coming from a number of different sources, but the state source is a very important piece of that. And I hope they really dig into the numbers and answer everybody's questions with what’s happening with the state money that goes to the universities.”

Brownback has said he'll push for reversing the cuts next year. The two-week tour starts Tuesday. Lawmakers will visit all the state's public universities, a technical institute and a community college.

Stephen Koranda is the managing editor of the Kansas News Service, based at KCUR. He has nearly 20 years of experience in public media as a reporter and editor.