We hope school board members inform their local legislators about the needs of Kansas schools in the 2015 session. “School board members from across Kansas are gearing up to fight for more funding when the state Legislature convenes on Jan. 12. “The Kansas Association of School Boards is using a court ruling handed down last week to makes its case. “In a web presentation for school board members, KASB Associate Executive Director Mark Tallman said school boards must press lawmakers for more funding. “’It’s not that schools are continuing to demand more and more,’ he says. ‘What I...
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Merritt: leaders willing to sacrifice education
We agree with this editorial. We also note that almost every Kansas legislator in office and our governor claimed to be public education supporters while campaigning, and yet there is no groundswell among those we sent to Topeka to comply with the Gannon lower court’s order. It is deemed beyond question that the state will appeal the order to increase funding for our schools. Why is that? “Our governor and legislative leadership appear willing to sacrifice the education and futures of thousands of Kansans, as well as the economic and social stability of the state itself, to perpetuate...
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Leave a Comment Nepotism and financial mismanagement in CT charter group
And here we have the latest on a major charter school group in Connecticut. Kansas should retain its current law on charter schools. “The Jumoke Academy charter school operation was saddled with ‘rampant nepotism,’ imposed little or no oversight on former CEO Michael Sharpe and made repeated financial missteps that could sink the organization within three years, according to a 99-page investigative report ordered by the state Department of Education. “The report, released Friday afternoon and coming in the midst of an FBI investigation of Jumoke and the closely related Family Urban Schools of Excellence, mirrors reporting by...
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Leave a Comment Representative Hineman explains fiscal situation
Representative Don Hineman provides a great explanation of Kansas’ current situation. As a life-long Republican and a fiscal conservative I recognize that government must operate as efficiently as possible and that continues to be a focus for me. But I was also elected to insure that state government continues to provide the services its citizens depend upon and that government delivers those services in a manner that is as user-friendly as possible. I have concluded that it will be impossible to fill the looming budget deficits with nothing but budget cuts. Some form of additional revenue will be...
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