“Gov. Sam Brownback’s sloppy — or calculated — misuse of various figures to illustrate his administration’s successes is taking a toll on his credibility… “The job numbers are a case where the figures Brownback is citing may not be wrong but could be misleading to the public. The same is true for the administration’s repeated contentions about increases in K-12 school funding when a large portion of that ‘increase’ resulted from including the cost of payments to the teachers’ retirement fund in the funding total. “It’s natural for any politician to try to pick the figures that make...
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KPI charity status questioned in light of lobbying
We’ve asked this question, too. “KPI’s website includes opinion essays on school funding, tax policy and more. KPI’s president, Dave Trabert, routinely testifies before the Kansas Legislature. He is also a lobbyist who has spent more than $2,800 this year buying lunches for lawmakers, state records show. “Is KPI trying to ‘substantially’ influence legislation?” We say yes. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/article29407249.html...
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Leave a Comment Trailers from new documentary on education “reform”
Here’s a trailer from a documentary on education “reform”. We’re looking forward to seeing the whole film. We’re facing these issues in Kansas, and or fellow advocates are facing them in other states across the country. Click here for the link to the trailer. http://edincmovie.com Many of our legislators also attended the ALEC meeting in San Diego last week, and we’ve seen too many ALEC education bills in Kansas. Here’s a trailer from the video addressing ALEC. https://vimeo.com/131232625?outro=1...
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Leave a Comment Brownback using inaccurate data on schools
“The next time Gov. Sam Brownback makes a claim about education spending, he needs to double or triple check to make sure his numbers are accurate. He and his staff have a bad habit of being wrong. “The most recent mistake occurred during a news conference Friday. Brownback displayed a large chart claiming that the average teacher salary in Kansas was $7,060 more than the average salary in Missouri…The Kansas average included salary and benefits, and the Missouri total was salary only. “At a news conference last month, Brownback infuriated the Garden City school district when he claimed...
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