On February 24, the Senate Education Committee passed a negotiations bill which mirrors the minority report from the K-12 Efficiency Commission (signed by paid lobbyists Mike O’Neal and Dave Trabert who have consistently opposed strong education funding and policy, Sam Williams and Dennis Depew and not the majority of the commission) rather than passing the bill supported by the school boards association, the superintendents association, the school administrators association and the teachers union. Voting for the bill were Senators Melcher, Fitzgerald, Tyson, Pyle, Abrams and Arpke. Senators Hensley, Baumgardner, Schmidt, Pettey, and Kerschen voted against the bill. Please thank...
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Legislature stifling dissent
“Along the way, conservatives pushed new policies seen by some as stifling political dissent. “Public employee unions are now barred from deducting money from members’ paychecks to help bankroll political activities, which tend to be directed against conservatives. State money can no longer be used to lobby for gun control. And lawmakers have pushed repeatedly to overhaul the makeup of a state Supreme Court that’s ordered the Legislature to spend millions more on schools and that the legislative majority sees as hostile to the death penalty…Republican state Rep. Don Hineman of western Kansas said attempts to muffle dissent...
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Leave a Comment Senate approves bill to ease prosecution of teachers
One of our friends said it best. “And here’s the part where we hold the threat of prosecution over our teachers.” This bill got Senate approval on February 26. Teachers deserve protection from prosecution for teaching material some may consider obscene, especially at a time when their due process rights have been eliminated. Our teachers already feel under attack, and now the sex ed and English teachers have even more reason for concern. Voting NO (thank them) Bowers, Faust-Goudeau, Francisco, Haley, Hawk, Hensley, Holland, Kelly, Longbine, McGinn, O’Donnell, Pettey, Schmidt, Wolf. Voting YES (are they representing you?) Abrams,...
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Leave a Comment Arm twisting prevalent in KS legislature
We keep hearing reports of arm twisting going on behind the scenes in Topeka. We hear legislators are being threatened that if they don’t vote with party leadership on particular bills they will lose their committee chairmanships, or their schools will lose funding, or they will be subject to postcards in their next legislative session. As concerned community members, we can throw up our hands and say Washington style politics has come to Kansas, and the game is over. Or we can contact our legislators and tell them we are watching their votes and will base how we...
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