“After being thwarted in their efforts to select state Supreme Court justices more to their liking, conservative Kansas lawmakers have come up with an outrageous plan to make it easier to impeach judges for doing their jobs. “This latest assault on the judiciary smacks of desperation. It reveals legislators’ contempt for the checks and balances essential to a functioning democracy and risks making state government even more dysfunctional. “Senate Bill 439…would expand the legal basis for impeaching state Supreme Court justices and some district judges. “One of those reasons: ‘Attempting to usurp the power of the legislative or...
Read more
Leave a Comment Blog
SBOE member Waugh sums up March 8th
State Board of Education member Janet Waugh sums up the legislative happenings of March 8th. Please pay attention through the rest of this session and keep contacting your legislators. We’re sharing her Facebook post here. Janet Waugh March 8 at 8:54pm · While I was in Topeka today for my regular board meeting, the legislature was in action. Discussions included removing money from KSDE, Tobacco money from Children’s Cabinet, KSDOT money, Board of Regents money, etc. and transferring it all to the State General Fund. In addition they were working on making schools spend down their reserves, more...
Read more
Leave a Comment PTA issues Action Alert on HB 2457 tax credit scholarship expansion
UPDATE: After this alert was issued, HB 2457 was passed over, and the House did not debate it or vote on it. It is still alive as of March 20, 2016. ***PTA ACTION ALERT*** Send an email or leave a voice mail message ASAP! The bill is on General Orders on the House floor tomorrow! (go to openstates.org for your House Rep) See below: Dear Representative [link to your House member], I urge you to Vote NO on Expanding the Tax Credit voucher-type Scholarship Program (HB 2457) Concerns with Tax Credit voucher-type Scholarship Program Vouchers, scholarships or tax...
Read more
Leave a Comment Hinson: no certainty schools will open next year
“Now state legislators, grappling with a $30 million deficit in the state budget, must find a way to constitutionally fund schools by the end of June or come July 1, there will be no mechanism to pay for K-12 education in Kansas. “And the closer schools get to that deadline, the more worried parents, teachers and school administrators become, Southwick said. “’Normally at this time we are finished with our budget for 2016-2017,’ Hinson said. ‘Right now we don’t know how to budget for ’16, ’17. We have heard so many different variables about what might happen. We...
Read more
Leave a Comment