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Real world of school funding

The real world of school funding By Rod Haxton, editor of The Scott County Record There are two political worlds in which we live. There’s the world where we can deport nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants, tax cuts will always (always!) lead to balanced budgets and no one would be crazy enough to elect Donald Trump president. And there’s reality. It would probably scare the bejesus out of us if we knew how few in America are living in the latter. In Kansas, we have ultraconservatives in the governor’s office and in the legislature who are creating their...
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Gannon equity fix discussion continues

“Two Republican lawmakers on Tuesday [March 15] floated the idea of giving the Kansas Department of Education control over school funding. The idea was proposed during a hearing on a bill meant to address the Kansas Supreme Court’s order to fix inequities between school districts. “’We have a bunch of winners here. Where are they?’ Kleeb asked. The Wichita school district’s lobbyist, Diane Gjerstad, attended the meeting. “’This is the first inning in the school finance game and it’s going to be a long nine innings. …We don’t believe this will be the end product,’ Gjerstad said when...
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Support problem solvers, not charlatans in legislature

“But we don’t have to reward them those points. Instead, we should applaud those who take the thornier route and help solve the issues facing this state. “That requires us to place problem-solving above sound bites and vote for compromisers, not charlatans. “Fortunately, the information you need will be readily available in the pages of this newspaper. Before long, the problem-solvers will emerge. They will work diligently, taking flak from less reasonable legislators. “We, the editorial board, pledge to support them on this page. They may be conservatives or liberals or moderates, but that will not dictate our...
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