This is bad news regarding the House Education Committee and further evidence of how the anti-public education agenda will be pushed during the 2016 legislative session. Representative Rooker was pulled from the House Education Committee last year. Moderates Rep. Diana Dierks (Salina) and Rep. John Ewy (Jetmore) were removed November 11. Rep. Willie Dove, who is not a moderate, was also moved to replace moderates on the Health and Human Services Committee. The three will be replaced on the House Education Committee by Kasha Kelley (Arkansas City), Becky Hutchins (Holton) and Kevin Jones (Wellsville). We became familiar with Rep. Kelley during the 2014 session when she pushed the ALEC agenda repeatedly. Rep. Hutchins sponsored the bill to ban relatives of school employees from serving on school boards, though she reportedly didn’t support the bill. Rep. Jones supported repealing the school funding formula, moving local elections to the fall and changing how Supreme Court Justices are selected.
“Moderates Rep. Diana Dierks, R-Salina, and Rep. John Ewy, R-Jetmore, were reassigned from the House Education Committee to the Elections and Transportation committees, respectively. Dierks blamed this on their opposition to conservative reforms to education.
“’They’re taking key people and putting us on committees where we can’t, as they say, stir the pot,’ Dierks said. ‘But trust me … my voice will be heard.’”
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article44278170.html