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We post this article because Kansas is part of this trend, and any discussion on education spending and outcomes in Kansas needs to include the increasing numbers of Kansas students in poverty. Instead of the story line told my some that Kansas scores have been stagnant, the story should be that despite dramatic increases in students in need of additional help, scores have held steady. We want our schools to improve, but we need to acknowledge the demands they are facing. “[S]pending on education has not kept pace with the rise in child poverty. While poverty grew by...

We disagree. We think our legislators and governor should focus more on education policy that actually works and what Kansans want rather than following the recommendations of ideologues and corporations from other states. We opposed multiple ALEC education bills last year and are preparing to do the same in 2014:http://www2.ljworld.com/weblogs/capitol-report/2013/dec/17/brownback-says-perception-of-alec-influe/...

While we are happy to see any mention of the need to increase school funding, we are concerned that the governor is suggesting payment for full-day kindergarten should be phased in over five years and note that the statewide $16 million increase is less than the annual operating budget cuts faced by Shawnee Mission School District between 2009 and 2012.http://www.kansascity.com/2013/12/16/4696294/brownback-seeks-to-increase-state.html...

Issues are arising in Texas regarding accountability and transparency with private companies skirting prohibitions on commercial entities running public schools. There are some in Kansas who would like us to follow this model.http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/us/when-private-firms-run-schools-financial-secrecy-is-allowed.html?smid=tw-share&_r=2&...