We agree with this editorial. We believe moving elections is not about increasing turnout but is about making them easier to manipulate by injecting partisanship. Any bill that moves the elections from the spring will be part of a move to eventually move them to even years and make them partisan. “Any proposal that includes forcing local elections to become partisan contests is a bad idea. The last thing local school and city races need is to add a layer of partisanship to the mix. These officials need to be focused on what’s best for the community and...
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Kansas Budget blog stresses importance of BSAPP
Please share this post. Far too many Kansans hear the claims that overall funding is up and conclude that all is well with Kansas school funding. The fact remains that Base State Aid Per Pupil (BSAPP) was cut during the recession, while legislators promised it would be restored when the recession eased. Instead, we got a risky tax cut and classroom funding that is not keeping up with needs. “Lawmakers do have discretion over general state aid, and they have chosen to let it decline. The result: classroom sizes are growing and Kansas districts are less able to...
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Leave a Comment Texas report shows public schools outperform charters there
Be wary of those who promote changing Kansas law to promote more charter schools with no accountability. Other states keep showing that charters do not outperform public schools, especially when you control for their different student populations. “Please spread this information across the state! Charter schools perform well at significantly lower percentages than the traditional public schools. Even with inequitable and inadequate funding, even without doing selective admissions (like charters), even with constant bashing, Texas public schools did themselves proud in the 2014 accountability rankings. “Charters perform significantly lower than traditional public schools! Again!” Texas 2014 Accountability: State...
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Leave a Comment Lawmakers still considering moving school board elections to fall
The push to move school board and other municipal elections to the fall and make them partisan is not benign. It represents an effort to politicize local offices and make them subject to the same partisan postcards we just saw for statewide offices. It would also lead to voters casting uninformed ballots on school board races which would likely get overwhelmed by the other races at that time. Kansans need to stay informed on this issue. “‘I think it’s a terrible idea,’ said Lawrence school board president Shannon Kimball. ‘The partisan politics going on at the state level...
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