As your Kansas State Treasurer one my duties is to be the guardian of all state funds and to ensure they are directed through the appropriate channels. Annually, we see over$16 billion pass through our office. To help you visualize, if we stacked the $1 bills one on top of the other, the pile would go up approximately 1,500 miles. When I was elected in 2002, I made a commitment to serve you to the best of my abilities. I also promised that I would help educate Kansans, young and old, about the importance of financial literacy.
One of our greatest accomplishments to this goal was the development of the Kansas Financial Education Foundation. The foundation, supported by private donations - not taxpayers' dollars, was established to make sure you have the resources available to make educated and responsible decisions with your money.
One program that I am especially proud of is the "Save @ School" program. It introduces grade school students to the concept of money management by inviting students to open savings accounts and make deposits on scheduled days at their schools. Also available to the schools is a curriculum, developed and distributed by the State Treasurer's office and approved by the Kansas Department of Education. It is designed to teach students about money and how to use it responsibly. The goal of the program is to have the students leave class with more than a grade, but also a hefty savings account and an understanding of money management.
We kicked off the first "Save @ School" program at the beginning of the 2004 school year at Woodrow Wilson Elementary in Manhattan. More and more grade schools are signing on to bring this program to their students! We are currently developing a similar curriculum appropriate for middle school aged students.
Kansans' seventh and eighth graders are also learning about money management skills through the MoneySmart Financial Management Camp. For the second year, we invited middle school students from every corner of Kansas to three days of education and fun. Nearly 100 campers spent the weekend learning valuable money management and teamwork skills combined with traditional camp activities such as horseback riding and canoeing. The camp included interactive workshops on topics such as Money & Choices, Budgeting, Savings & Goal-Setting, and Cash & Credit. With support from the Kansas Credit Union Association and Wichita State University's Students in Free Enterprise, the camp was a great success for the second year in a row.
But don't worry, we haven't forgotten the adults! My office sponsors free financial planning seminars to help Kansans take a proactive approach to their financial planning. The seminars, instructed by respected and experienced experts in your local area, offer information on insurance, investments, taxes and much more. The seminars are not sales meetings. They are about educating you to help make your finances work for you. The next seminar is planned for Oct. 19 in Overland Park at the city's Chamber of Commerce office from 3 to 5 p.m.
If you are interested in bringing any of the financial literacy programs described here to your community, please contact my office at 785/296-0645. We are committed to ensuring every Kansan has the tools available to them to make responsible decisions with their money.
