Poverty ripples across SEK

from The Pittsburg Morning Sun

By Andrew Nash

Although the Community-Level Information for Kids shows SEK students are living in poverty, it's often hard to get inside the numbers.

For instance, all three counties (Bourbon, Crawford and Cherokee) rank in the bottom quarter of Kansas counties of the percent of students on a free or reduced lunch program (92nd, 83rd and 96th, respectively).

The free or reduced lunch program is a federal program established on strict guidelines.

To qualify for a free lunch, a family of four must make at or less than 130 percent of the federal poverty level. The program is based on the 2007 poverty level of $20,650. Therefore, to qualify for a free lunch, a family of four must earn less than $26,845.

To qualify for a reduced lunch, a family of four must make less than 185 percent of the federal poverty level, meaning $38,203.

And roughly half of the students in Southeast Kansas are below those levels.

"That is the best way to collect the data, when it is truly compared apples to apples," said Monica Murnan, executive director of the Family Resource Center. "Free and reduced lunch is recorded the same in Crawford County as it is in Bourbon County. Ninety-nine percent of kids are in school. That shows you just how many are dealing with poverty."

Gary Brunk, president of Kansas Action for Children, said poverty affects more than just economic conditions. He said poverty can cause lower grades, lower future earnings, a lower chance of being a homeowner, a greater chance of severe health problems, and are slightly more likely to get into the wrong end of the criminal justice system.

"Society as a whole bears the cost. If a poor kid grows up and earns less money, that's less money injected into local economies," Brunk said. "Federal estimates say it costs the nation as a whole $500 billion to have children grow up poor."

Murnan said her primary goal is to disseminate the KAC information as part of the Family Resource Center in Pittsburg. The information will go to Rotary clubs, service groups and teachers.

But Murnan's biggest concern is raising awareness of how bad economic conditions really are.

"It is just one more thing to put in our heads," Murnan said. "It's a great place to live, but this is who we are, this is how we live. This should drive us as a community when we look at all aspects of our infrastructure. This could help planning for the city, the county and our schools."

One more concern for Murnan is potentially the largest obstacle in her way: apathy.