Governor Laura Kelly focused on the future of rural Kansas with her State of the State Address on Wednesday.

Speaking before a joint session of the House and Senate, the governor called for Medicaid expansion to save rural hospitals, and she called for efforts to protect rural schools.  She also said she would include in her budget recommendation the largest ever investment in early childhood education.

Kelly said eight rural hospitals have closed in the past decade, and more are in jeopardy.  She said “So much of the problem boils down to one thing:  far too many Kansans don’t have health insurance,” including working Kansans who don’t have insurance through work and can’t qualify for Medicaid.  She said the vast majority of Kansans want Medicaid expansion, and she called on lawmakers to support a proposal that will be revenue neutral and will provide coverage for 150,000 Kansans.

The governor said public schools have been fully funded for the past five years, and that investment is paying off.  She said the high school graduation rate is the highest it has ever been, more students are going to college or getting work credentials, and the number of students needing remedial education has dropped dramatically.  She said there are some lawmakers who want to divert funding to private schools through vouchers, and she will continue to reject vouchers and any attempt to send public education dollars to private schools.  She said vouchers will crush rural schools and they are not supported by teachers, local officials or Kansans.

Kelly said her plan for early childhood education would include an effort to solve the child care shortage in the state, which has been worse in rural areas.  She said her budget will also put Kansas on track to fully fund special education.

The governor also talked about her tax cut plan that was recently announced to completely end the sales tax on groceries and provide property tax relief for seniors, as well as eliminating the state tax on Social Security  She said with so many working families still struggling, the state needs to cut taxes again.   She said the bipartisan tax cut proposal will put money back into Kansans pockets in a fiscally responsible way.

The governor also said the state’s water crisis is a threat to rural Kansas and the entire state, and she wants to put the state on a path to resolve the crisis. She said her budget proposal will fully fund the state’s water plan for the third year in a row.  She said the plan will include more funding for rural towns to update their water systems, and it will provide additional resources to help farmers and ranchers with water-saving practices.

Kelly said the state’s urban centers are important, but in so many ways they depend on rural areas for crops, energy and tourism.  She said “as strong as we are as a state overall, if we’re going to reach new heights, we can’t just support growth in Overland Park, in Wichita, and in Lawrence. Garden City, Independence, and Goodland need our attention, too.