We share Rep. Hineman’s views on the three bills being heard in the House Education Committee this week. Quoting from his newsletter:
Trouble Comes in Threes
Representative John Bradford (R-Lansing) recently introduced three bills dealing with education. I touched on HB 2504 in last week’s newsletter. It would force consolidation of rural Kansas school districts and would threaten the existence of many rural schools and communities. I strongly oppose this measure, and I have been reminding my colleagues that following the last round of school consolidations in the 1960s there was a dramatic shift in the legislature, as many incumbents were not invited back!
HB 2457 would expand a program begun just a year ago to provide tax credits for contributions to pay for students to attend private schools. This runs contrary to my deeply-held conviction that public dollars should be used strictly for public education. If I had my way we would repeal the present statute, as it diverts dollars away from public education.
The third measure, HB 2486, creates a legislative committee to approve any state assistance for local school bond projects. I am sympathetic to the fact that the state can be responsible for a share of these projects without any input or control over costs. I believe that some sort of specifications on construction may be appropriate, or perhaps a totally independent and impartial review board. But a legislative committee is absolutely the wrong solution and is bound to lead to trouble. Further, anything we do on this issue must in be done in a way that does not lead to inequity between school districts.
Rep. Bradford has admitted that he was not the author of HB 2504, and I have a strong suspicion that all three measures originated with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a national free-market “think tank” with strong ties to the Koch brothers of Wichita and the Kansas Policy Institute. In recent years the Kansas legislature has considered and adopted a number of pieces of legislation which lack a local author but which can be found in the agenda of ALEC. Do we really believe ALEC knows what is best for Kansas public schools and the students who attend them?
Kansas Association of School Boards has provided a deeper analysis of all three bills for those who are interested. http://kasb.org/wcm/_NB/16/NB0129a.aspx