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Many Kansas parents are seeing increases in their children’s class sizes. “‘My son came home and said ‘dad we even have direction we can walk in the classroom,’ said Josh Bowland, father of fourth grade student. ‘It is like they have street signs in the class, they can only walk certain ways because it is so crowded.’ Bowland spoke to the Andover School Board on Sept. 8, along with two other parents, about his son’s fourth grade class being overcrowded. The class has 29 students when guidelines only allow for 28. “’We feel that it is detrimental to...

KU’s Center for Applied Economics is headed by a former Koch lobbyist who has written for KPI and ALEC.  We are concerned about lobbyists masquerading as academics. “From 1997 to 2004, [Art] Hall was chief economist of Koch Industries’ lobbying subsidiary, Koch Companies Public Sector. Now heading an institution operating directly out of KU [the Center for Applied Economics], Hall is able to continue lobbying for the Kochs under the guise of an academician, streamlining their political agenda straight to Topeka. “Hall has worked in cadence with other Koch affiliates to advance policies in Kansas that reflect the...

Here’s another example of how the needs of our school districts have increased. English Language Learner programs and staffing are required to meet the needs of students in ways that didn’t exist in the past. “If current trends continue – and officials think they will – Wichita’s enrollment will rise again by at least 300 students, and Hispanic families will continue to drive that growth. This year or next, the number of Hispanic students could exceed the number of non-Hispanic white students and become the largest ethnic group in the district. “Over the past decade, the percentage of...