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“Faced by large numbers of teachers angered over the attack on tenure, Republicans launched a charm offensive last week seeking to convince teachers the bill is not as bad for them as they’d been led to believe by their union and pro-teacher Democratic lawmakers. However, following research and inquiries by The Eagle, the office of House Speaker Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell, conceded it had given Republican lawmakers and the news media misinformation in a statement claiming to clear up misinformation surrounding the controversial bill. Late Friday night, the speaker’s office provided The Eagle with a copy of a memo...

The Kansas legislature recently took the same approach to combining funding and other questionable measures in a single bill pertaining to the judicial branch. We understand the need for a strong, impartial judiciary and oppose punishing the court for ruling on school finance. This is another example of bad policy and bad government. “At the very least, such a legislative overhaul of the judicial system’s administration deserved more thoughtful study and public debate. The measures bundled together in the final bill never even were considered by the House Judiciary Committee. The Kansas Association of Defense Counsel, for example,...