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Here’s information on the firm Kansas legislators have hired to look for more “efficiency” in Kansas, including Kansas public education. We are wary that we will see cuts rather than efficiencies. “A & M had a similar charge in 2003 when it was hired to take over management of the troubled St. Louis public school district, which had been shedding population for the previous 40 years and was running financial deficits in the range of $60 million to $70 million a year… “A former CEO of Brooks Brothers, a clothing retailer, Roberti had no background in managing a...

Well said, Manhattan School Board member Aaron Estabrook. “Public Education is not a partisan issue! As a Board we represent all people in a non-partisan way. I have been told by many Republican legislators that the extremism which has taken root in Topeka is determined to dismantle Public Education in Kansas. For many key members of the Extremist Caucus in the Brownback Legislature, the goal is to end Public School as we know it and replace it with their version of private school. This has played out in other states and it has failed horribly. Kansas has the...

Kansans understand that moving school board elections to the fall, which the legislature voted to do last session, is related to the problem described in this article, right? Supportive school boards are an obstacle to the privatization of public education. Moving elections from the spring, when more moderate voters turn out in higher percentages, to the fall, with primaries in August (where we generally see a higher turnout of extremists) is one way to try to change the makeup of school boards. An influx of out of state money supporting challengers with a privatization agenda is another way....

The 65% policy has been refuted over and over (including by the 2 most recent legislative appointed committees tasked with studying school efficiency) yet it continues to be used by those who know or should know better to rally for cuts in education spending and promotion of school “choice” aka privatization. The Kansas Chamber of Commerce is no friend of public education, and Kansans who care about our public schools should be concerned that O’Neal is getting standing ovations for his misstatements. “O’Neal’s speech drew two standing ovations for the former House Speaker, who also endorsed expansion of...