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We disagree with Governor Brownback’s recent statement that perception of ALEC’s influence in Kansas is overblown. Here’s a map showing Kansas has the nation’s 6th highest percentage of legislators with ALEC ties (42%). We believe Kansans know what Kansas needs, and our legislators don’t need to meet with national corporations to form their education policy.http://www.brookings.edu/research/interactives/2013/map-alec-in-your-state?utm_campaign=brookings-alert&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=11462914&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–lwaCV3vb1ybGzlmGSP–6rGH9xcocUWwtn6FmSjOxhAJxXwL6dQnVt3tF0eK_sic4_TpwFa_c4EBCsMoKY459RwXIBWr1eKtKl9pLAePm9Duf36c&_hsmi=11462914 Map: ALEC’s Influence in Your State www.brookings.edu The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is known for writing model legislation with major industries and then encouraging their introduction – through their legislative partners – in statehouses nationwide....

Please read and share this article. It explains what’s at stake. Every Kansan who cares about public schools should have their eyes wide open. “The Legislature’s failure to adequately pay for public education is a long-running Kansas story. The Supreme Court in 2005 ordered lawmakers to put more money into school financing. Conservatives bitterly decried the ruling, but finally settled on increasing allocations for three years until they were funding schools by an additional $755 million annually. The state kept its word for two school years. Then the recession hit. Starting in the 2009 school year, Kansas cut...

“Districts are making these difficult trade-offs at a time when schools are raising academic standards and business leaders are pushing schools to prepare a work force with better skills. ‘We can’t have the doublespeak where everybody talksabout how important education is to our being globally competitive,’ said Daniel A. Domenech, the executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, ‘and then education is not a priority when it comes to funding.’ In Pennsylvania, although the state’s education budget is now above prerecession levels, a large proportion of money is being diverted to replenish underfunded pensions, leaving less...

“It would be too bad if the kindergarten funds met a fate similar to increased higher education funding that was included in Brownback’s budget last January. Although Brownback voiced support for additional funds and even toured the state near the end of the session to tout his position, he nonetheless ended up signing a budget that didn’t include the higher education boost.” We agree and hope the governor and legislature aren’t playing good cop bad cop on education funding.http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2013/dec/23/editorial-first-step/?opinion...