“Brownback and the Legislature should treat the reports on the teacher exodus as a wake-up call. Kansans value public education. They want schools staffed by talented, enthusiastic professionals. “The governor and lawmakers must give schools adequate, stable funding and stop proposing laws that teachers find offensive and punitive. Until that happens, the drain will continue.” Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article28659634.html ...
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SMSD now skeptical of funding under block grants
SMSD conditionally supported the block grant funding saying it would provide funding certainty. That certainty is proving elusive. “Citing state budget numbers that simply don’t add up, Shawnee Mission Superintendent Jim Hinson said on Thursday that the school district expects to receive less than its promised allotment under the block grant bill passed in March and that it was making contingency plans in hopes of avoiding employee furloughs or other cost cutting measures in the middle of the school year.” Read more here: http://pvpost.com/2015/07/24/hinson-warns-reduction-in-state-aid-for-shawnee-mission-highly-likely-district-prepared-to-dip-into-reserves-41192...
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Leave a Comment Kansas corporate tax credit scholarship program was an ALEC bill
Here’s the boilerplate ALEC corporate tax credit scholarship bill that was modified and became Kansas law in the final hours of the 2014 legislative session, despite not being passed when considered on its own. The program was expanded this spring. Note the lack of academic accountability. http://www.alec.org/model-legislation/the-great-schools-tax-credit-program-act-scholarship-tax-credits/ We submitted testimony against the bill when it was heard (and failed to pass out of committee). Here’s a portion of our testimony. (Footnotes didn’t copy over but we referred to substantial research.) Our concerns regarding this bill are extensive and stem from the explicit preference among some elected officials to turn over...
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Leave a Comment Watch Bill Moyers update on ALEC
Since multiple Kansas legislators are at an ALEC conference in San Diego, we thought this would be a good time to share this again. In this episode, Bill Moyers explains ALEC. Listen to some of the discussion on education at the 11:45 and 23:22 points. Click here: http://billmoyers.com/episode/united-states-of-alec-a-follow-up/...
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