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Harmful bills having negative impact

“But there are still plenty of other school-related bills pending in the Legislature, including one that would put tighter controls on their ability to issue bonds, and another that would broaden a program that provides some student scholarships to attend private and parochial schools. “And school leaders are saying the sum total of all those proposals is now taking a toll on the morale of their teachers and staffs.” Read more here: http://m.ljworld.com/news/2016/feb/08/school-district-realignment-bill-stalls-educators-/?templates=mobile...
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Silver Lake superintendent warns of continuing threat

Please remember district consolidation is just one of multiple bills we oppose. “‘But while we’ve heard conversations over the last three years about consolidation, this was really the first time they put it into action, anything into words,’ he said. ‘For the first time, communities across Kansas have really had their first glimpse of ‘wow, is this really what they’re planning?’ “Hallacy said, however, if the makeup of the Kansas Legislature doesn’t change after the August primary or the November general election later this year, he said the proposal likely will re-emerge during the 2017 legislative session.” Read...
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Bill to require additional reporting by districts with drastic consequences narrowly defeated in House

SB 188, the bill that would have required additional reporting by school districts of information already publicly available and would have included a fine of $1,000 per day that a district was not in compliance, failed to pass the House on February 5th. Thank those who voted no (61): Alcala, Alford, Anthimides, Ballard, Becker, Billinger, Boldra, Bollier, Burroughs, Campbell, Carlin, Carmichael, Clark, Clayton, Concannon, Curtis, Dierks, Doll, Edmonds, Ewy, Finney, Francis, Frownfelter, Gallagher, Garber, Gonzalez, Helgerson, Henderson, Henry, Hibbard, Highberger, Hill, Hineman, Houston, Jennings, Kuether, Lewis, Lusk, Lusker, Moxley, Ousley, F. Patton, Rooker, Ruiz, Sawyer, Schroeder, Schwartz, Scott,...
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Kobach presents bill to prohibit schools from informing voters about bond issues

Kris Kobach presented a bill yesterday that would prohibit local government bodies, including school boards, from spending money to inform voters about upcoming ballot issues, such as bond elections. “James Howell, chairman of the Sedgwick County Commission, said contents of Senate Bill 368 would infringe on the right of free speech by those elected to represent people in city, county and school district offices. He said the state shouldn’t impose a law blocking distribution of information to constituents preparing to vote on important issues. “’We work for the people of our respective jurisdictions,’ Howell said. ‘We have a...
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