“Every local school board, city council and city commission in Kansas should be sending the same message to their legislators that the Lawrence City Commission and school board sent this week. “School Board President Shannon Kimball and Mayor Mike Amyx have sent letters to Kansas legislators opposing a bill that would turn local elections into partisan contests. The switch would be part of a measure that also would move those elections to November in even-numbered years and combine them with state and national races. “Two letters from elected officials in Lawrence are unlikely to put a halt to...
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New York Times covers Kansas education cuts
Our education shell game is national news. “On Tuesday, after signing the bill that allowed for the cuts and cash transfers to fill this year’s deficit, Mr. Brownback again urged lawmakers to rewrite the formula used to provide aid to the neediest school districts. If the Legislature saves money by doing so, he asserted, it could restore the $28 million in cuts to K-12 public schools that he called for this month. The governor has also asked lawmakers to overhaul the means for financing schools in general.” http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/12/us/politics/education-is-newest-target-of-kansas-budget-cuts.html?_r=1...
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Leave a Comment Brownback and districts at odds over cuts and reserves
“Overall, Brownback noted in his statement on the funding change, even with the cut schools are receiving $177 million more this year than last. “That increase in large part was driven by a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that called for the state to increase public school funding. “The midyear cut, however, hits schools after their budgets and payroll obligations are established for the year…The current school year’s contingency funds — including about $8.3 million in Kansas City, Kan., $5.6 million in Shawnee Mission, $9.7 million in Olathe and $11.2 million in Blue Valley — would be needed to...
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Leave a Comment Legislators fail to hear opposition testimony
From Kansas PTA: Kansas PTA supplied testimony in opposition to SB171 which would make school board elections partisan. Opponents got less than 20 minutes to testify while those in favor of the bill got nearly an hour to testify. Legislators should be willing to hear both sides of the issue and not push through their own agenda. Is your legislator hearing from you on these issues? Kansas PTA believes in non partisan elections. Kansas PTA also believes in transparency in government and more than 24 hour turnaround time to prepare testimony on these very important bills being rushed...
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