“Thankfully, judges rule not by popular opinion but by the law. The fact that they are insulated from popular opinion — the will of the people — helps them to arrive at decisions based on the law, not the political desires of politicians. “Our laws aren’t written to ensure that Gov. Brownback or anyone else gets what they want. They’re there to protect the freedom and rights of everyone. It’s something to remember over this holiday weekend, and every time you hear a politician try to score points by railing against activist judges, or see them try to...
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Courts should remain independent
“Both the executive and legislative branches of state government also have made thinly veiled threats to the state’s appellate courts if they order more funding for K-12 schools in Kansas. “The state already has made appointments to the Kansas Court of Appeals more political by eliminating the role of the Supreme Court Nominating Commission in reviewing applicants for those posts. Applying that same system to the Kansas Supreme Court would require a constitutional amendment, but some state officials are eager to pursue that change — especially if they don’t like the school finance ruling… “What the critics don’t...
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Leave a Comment Youth endowment fund being depleted by legislature
“Children’s advocates raised concerns Wednesday that the state is endangering long-term funding for programs meant to benefit Kansas kids. “The Kansas Endowment for Youth Fund will drop to a record low amount at the end of fiscal year 2017, according to the advocacy group Kansas Action for Children, under the budgets passed by the Legislature last month. “The Kansas Legislature has swept, or taken for other uses, $200 million from the KEY Fund since 2000. The fund, composed of money from the state’s tobacco settlement, is meant to provide future funding to children’s programs… “Shannon Cotsoradis, president of...
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Leave a Comment KS teachers crossing state line
“All of this is all taking a toll on recruiting and retaining teachers, and there’s mounting evidence that Kansas teachers are becoming disenchanted. And out-of-state districts are taking advantage… “Right now there are some 700 openings in the state for teachers and non-teaching staff. Wilson says that’s double the number of openings they usually have this time of year. “Kansas teachers, she says, just don’t feel supported…Wilson and other educators say it’s hard to fill teaching jobs in Kansas right now because not only has funding not kept up with needs, but how schools will be funded is...
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