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Bradford files massive expansion of ALEC tax credit scholarship program

Rep. Bradford has filed a bill to expand the tax credit scholarship program. Among other things, the bill takes away the requirement that students qualify as “at-risk” or attending a Title I focus or priority school, takes away the requirement that students have attended public school the prior year, expands the tax credit from 70% of the corporation’s income tax liability to 100% of ANY TAXPAYER’S income tax liability, and raises the cap of the program from $10 million to $12.5 million. We oppose this expansion for all the same reasons we opposed the original bill and last...
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General fund income could be less than expenses for 4th year

Kansans need to remember this reality is part of the context of legislator decisions about school funding. “Next year’s state budget could be the fourth fiscal year in a row with less general fund income than expenses, former state budget director Duane Goossen noted. ‘Each year lawmakers have scrambled to fill the resulting gap, first by blowing through $709 million in reserves, and then by withdrawing record amounts from the highway fund and other funds,’ Goossen wrote in a blog post for the Kansas Center for Economic Growth. Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposed budget for next fiscal year has...
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Shanker Institute: Money does matter

This piece is more “academic” but worth the read for its overall conclusions, critique of oft-cited Hanushek and discussion of merit pay, class sizes and charters. “Many of the ways in which schools currently spend money do improve student outcomes. “When schools have more money, they have greater opportunity to spend productively. When they don’t, they can’t. “Arguments that across-the-board budget cuts will not hurt outcomes are completely unfounded. “In short, money matters, resources that cost money matter, and a more equitable distribution of school funding can improve outcomes. Policymakers would be well-advised to rely on high-quality research...
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