This is not acceptable. Kansas, are you fed up yet? “The [Olathe school] board, three of whom were just elected, got the news that the district has a $2 million deficit and up to 80 layoffs may be needed to close the gap…The district is proposing to leave a handful of open administrative unfilled, but the bulk of the savings will come from layoffs and program cuts. “The plan calls for the elimination of middle school library aids, paraprofessionals hours will be cut, some custodians will be laid off and the district will end its Spanish program for...
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Parents and others concerned about hostile environment for teachers
“Classroom spending cuts, uncertain school financing, low pay and eroding tenure protections all play into a hostile climate in Kansas that teachers and school administrators say is spurring a surge of teacher departures and retirements. “At least 3,720 Kansas teachers have left the state, retired or taken jobs outside of education after this past school year, a huge jump from the 2,150 who did so just a couple of years ago, according to a newly released data by Kansas State Department of Education. “Parent Judith Deedy, who has two 11-year-olds and one 13-year-old in the Shawnee Mission school...
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Leave a Comment Kansas teacher shortage shows need for change
“Kansas has twice as many vacant teaching jobs this July as normal. And fewer people are applying for those jobs. That’s according to the state’s online job service for teachers. “Educators say this is a nationwide problem made worse by state finances. “‘With the block grant passing we were very unsure how that would impact us financially,’ said Charles Wakefield, in charge of recruiting teachers to the Wichita Public Schools. ‘So we held off on hiring for several weeks.’… “If Kansans want a quality education to continue to be provided in public schools, educators say something needs to...
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Leave a Comment Kansas Chamber and KPI oppose school funding decision
We hope Kansas parents, teachers and other community members take note of this op ed. A few years ago, many of us had never heard of the Kansas Policy Institute and assumed the Kansas Chamber of Commerce was an organization to promote the interests of Kansas businesses. Now we understand that these two organizations are Koch-funded mouthpieces which actively advocate against the interests of Kansas public schools and the children they serve. The arguments in this piece are easily refuted. See the comments below it. We also note that the claim that districts choose to operate inefficiently is...
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