Another troubling trend in Kansas. “Since 2011, 162 Kansas superintendents have resigned or retired, according to information provided to the Journal-World by the Kansas School Superintendents’ Association. That means that of the 286 school districts in Kansas, more than half have seen turnover in the superintendent position in the past five years. “Buie said that the increased number of resignations is a combination of several factors — such as people generally staying in positions for shorter amounts of time and large numbers becoming eligible to retire — that exist in many professions. But others are more specific to...
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Rep. Hineman on three harmful school bills
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...
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Leave a Comment Contacting legislators tutorial
It’s time to be contacting legislators. We know some of you already have, but for the rest of you, here’s a tutorial. When you contact a legislator, identify the bill number if possible, that you are a constituent, and how you would like them to vote. You always want to be civil, but explain why you feel the way you do. If you don’t know who your legislator is, go to http://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/. For the first part of the session, bills will be in committee, so you want to email all the members of that committee. On our website...
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Leave a Comment School bills meddle but don’t solve funding woes
This week will be busy in the Kansas legislature with multiple harmful bills. Please stay tuned in and help your friends do the same. “If there’s a lack of urgency on finding a new formula, there’s no shortage of ideas for how the Legislature might meddle in public schools and local control… “The House Education Committee has scheduled hearings this week on one bill to let a new legislative panel decide the eligibility of school bond projects for state aid and another to dramatically expand the program offering tax credits for funding private-school scholarships. “On Wednesday the same...
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