Did John Vratil make the following comment? No, it was Dave Trabert, fellow performance and efficiency panel member who is not being targeted for removal. “As shown in Table 8, small districts typically cost more per-pupil to operate than larger ones, and some of Kansas’ smaller districts are losing enrollment. In FY 2005 there were only four districts with fewer than 100 students; by FY 2008 there were seven and in FY 2009 there were eight. The cost of operating the smallest districts, which are likely to continue losing enrollment, will grow exponentially unless something is done. “Consolidation...
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No call for removal of Trabert who has actually argued for consolidation
Why aren’t the Republicans calling for the removal of performance and efficiency panel member Dave Trabert, who not only is a paid lobbyist for a group focused on tax policy and “free market principles” but who has argued for consolidation. See this: “Consolidation is a four-letter word in Kansas, although the current total of 286 districts is a far cry from 9,284 that existed in 1896.44 Kansans have survived a great deal of consolidation over the years and there may well be room for a bit more, especially given academic limitations of extremely small districts. As shown in...
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Leave a Comment Republicans call for removal of Vratil from efficiency commission
This is absurd. John Vratil’s statements have been taken out of context in warning rural Kansas that consolidation is a real threat when budgets shrink. This tactic to try to scare rural Kansans into thinking that Davis and Vratil are out to shut down their schools shifts the conversation about the real problem facing rural Kansas schools, which is the dual problem of declining enrollment and decreasing funding. http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2014/sep/10/republicans-call-removal-former-legislator-educati/...
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Leave a Comment KASB report explains school funding facts
For those of you seeing the Brownback ad citing KASB as the source for the statement that education funding is up, here’s the rest of the story the ads aren’t telling you. Please read this entire document. “These figures illustrate why school leaders continue to express deep concerns about the adequacy of school funding, despite increases that have been provided in certain areas. When measured against changes in the cost of living, funding for educational programs that can actually be spent on teachers, administrators and student support programs has declined by $500 million since 2009, and even the...
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