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Game On walker Von Wagoner files to challenge Pyle

Lauren Van Wagoner is in the game! We know a lot of people are doing things they hadn’t done before-contacting legislators, politely talking politics with friends, learning how to unspin the spin on education policy and funding, walking 60 miles to Topeka and even running for office. “Van Wagoner joined Game on for Kansas Schools in March 2015 and walked 60 miles in three days for public education. “’It was a life changing event, and I knew then that I wanted to be the voice for Kansans,’ she said.” Read more here: http://www.holtonrecorder.net/news/van-wagoner-files-kansas-senate-seat...
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Superintendent Stufflembeam explains classroom spending

From the Twitterverse, Superintendent Darrel Stufflebeam (@dstuffelbeam) explaining “classroom” spending: “Things that do not count as ‘classroom spending’ (this will take more than one tweet): teacher training, food service, bus drivers,… “More things that do not count as “classroom spending”: natural gas, librarians, nurses, counselors, speech therapists, principals, … “Third tweet of things that don’t count as “classrooms spending”: superintendents, custodians, fuel, insurance, secretaries, electricity,… “Fourth and final tweet of things that don’t count as “classroom spending”: phone service, copier service, water. “Should add that constructing classrooms does not count as ‘classroom spending’. That’s right, classrooms are not...
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Valley Center Super Gibson explains how district spends money

“Over the last several months, you may have heard elected state officials share that schools need to get more money into the classroom. Personally, I couldn’t agree more. The challenge, however, is that since 2009, schools in Kansas have experienced a decrease in state funding for the very budgets that can be used to support the classroom. When you review where we spend our dollars, you will find that it to be fairly consistent with how other districts spend operational dollars. It is important to note that Valley Center spends less per student than most every district in...
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Record levels of debt covering income tax revenue impact

The current administration is hiding the disastrous results of its tax policy by issuing record levels of debt (which will need to be paid). This does not bode well for the short-term or long-term future of school funding in Kansas. Do your friends understand this? “Six lines buried deep in a 700-page appropriation bill last spring gave the Kansas Department of Transportation unlimited authority to issue debt, and in early December, without public disclosure, the agency used that authority to issue $400 million in highway bonds. “State law requires those debt proceeds to be used for improving state...
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