Gov. Sam Brownback's School Efficiency Task Force released a 12-point plan Monday to help school districts spend their money more effectively.

The task force began meeting in October, kicking off with a presentation by the free-market advocate group the Kansas Policy Institute, a longtime opponent of increasing school funding. The task force was staffed primarily with accountants and Brownback drew criticism for not including educators before adding a superintendent after the first meeting.

Kansas Board of Education member Ken Willard led the task force and said Monday in a prepared statement that he hopes the fruits of its labor will be useful.

“It is our hope that this report will assist the Governor and the Kansas Legislature in their policymaking decisions, and that it will result in more efficient and effective Kansas public schools," Willard said.

The task force's stated goal was to recommend ways to increase the amount of education dollars going to classroom instruction in order to meet the state's public policy aspiration of 65 percent. It recommended another task force to review that percentage and more clearly define what should be included as classroom instruction.

The group also called on leaders to "review/narrow" the statutes that govern teachers unions' collective bargaining rights, establishing a two-year budgeting process and prioritizing on-time payments to schools — the final two items aimed at giving districts more certainty about their cash flow so they feel comfortable spending reserves.

“I want to thank the members of the task force for their work on this important issue," Brownback said. "Their insight on how we can get more money into our Kansas classrooms will benefit generations of students to come. I look forward to working with legislators, parents, teachers and administrators in putting these recommendations into practice."

The group's 12 recommendations are:

■ Establish a statutorily-required 2-year school funding cycle.

■ Place a priority emphasis on the timely transfer of state payments to school districts in June and January.

■ Conduct a study to reevaluate the state’s open-ended obligation to equalization of school construction bond issues to provide the state with better visibility from a budgeting perspective.

■ Conduct a study on implementing a state data management and accounting system that is integrated with K-12 school systems and post-secondary institutions for streamlined educational reporting of data flow/administrative processes.

■ Restructure the operating parameters associated with the Capital Outlay Fund

■ Revise/narrow the Professional Negotiations Act to prevent it from hindering operational flexibility/resource assignment.

■ Legislatively eliminate, reduce, and consolidate the statutory cash reserve accounts and separate fund accounts that currently exist, thereby ending the “use-it-or-lose-it” policy and allowing the funding contained in each fund category to be more broadly spent across the full variety of educational requirements. Accounts that remain, including the General Fund, should be allowed a modest amount of carryover from year to year.

■ Authorize a study of school district administration personnel structures and positions. Develop a state plan for district-level administrative reorganization and alignment.

■ Require that a university level finance/accounting/budget management course be included in the district leadership licensing requirements, if not already included.

■ Form a task force of education, finance, and legislative members to establish a commonly-accepted definition of “instruction” spending and review the 65% public policy goal figure.

■ Place a limitation on duration of due process proceedings for special education hearings.

■ Conduct an efficiency study/audit of the Kansas State Department of Education.