“She walked away wondering ‘when schools became the enemy.’ “Part of the problem is that some state lawmakers rarely visit public schools, let alone spend half a day observing teachers and visiting with administrators. As a result, their perceptions of public schools may be based on talking points pushed by anti-tax groups, not on what’s actually happening in classrooms. “This can lead to wrongheaded legislation that second-guesses teachers and administrators and undermines teacher unions.” Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/opinion/editorials/article69089292.html....
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Negligible increases in teacher base pay
From KASB: “Base salaries for teachers have increased less than 1.7 percent annually since 2010 and when inflation is taken into account, the raises haven’t been keeping up, according to new information from Kansas school districts. “The report shows that since 2010, Kansas teachers have received annual increases in base salaries of 0.6 percent, 0.1 percent, 0.9 percent, 1.6 percent, 0.9 percent, 1.3 percent and 0.3 percent. “But when inflation is factored in, salaries fell 1.2 percent in 2010, 3.6 percent in 2011, 1.0 percent in 2012, then increased 0.6 percent in 2013 before decreasing again by 1.1...
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Leave a Comment Wichita parents need to be heard on proposed cuts
“Many conservative legislators would argue that schools in Wichita and statewide have more than enough money, that too much is spent on administration rather than in the classroom, and that some of the proposed cuts are meant to stir public emotion rather than actually be implemented. “But the school board debates in Wichita and around the state show that unlike much of what’s discussed and passed in Topeka, the recent actions on school funding stand to affect daily family matters as fundamental as when kids must wake up and how they get to school, including whether they must...
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Leave a Comment Kansans must speak up and participate
We used to believe that legislators who consistently voted contrary to the interests of our public schools and the children they serve just needed to be informed or hear from constituents. We have learned that some of them just won’t change their minds or listen to us. Their campaigns are funded almost entirely outside their districts, and they heed their funders. Public education supporters will need to understand who is and is not really pro-public education and support those who are. We agree with this editorial (though it states we recruit candidates, which we don’t actually do, rather...
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