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Stegall selection highlights concerns about transparency and political motives

“With Stegall’s selection, however, there is little question that the state’s judiciary is being consolidated to align with the governor’s mode of thought. At the least, it raises questions about how a judge so closely aligned with the governor – who largely owes his political advancement to him – reasonably could be expected to issue rulings that effectively check the governor’s powers. Despite its advertisement as a more transparent and apolitical method of appointing judges, Brownback’s first selection confirms critics’ suspicions that it diminishes the value of jurisprudence in exchange for a frightening focus on like-mindedness and political...
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Well-educated workforce is key to prosperity for states

The best way for Kansas to grow its economy is by investing in a well-educated workforce, according to a new paper from EARN—the Economic Analysis and Research Network, a project of the Economic Policy Institute, which includes the Kansas Center for Economic Growth.  http://www.epi.org/publication/states-education-productivity-growth-foundations/...
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ALEC education bills invade Kansas

Here’s a chart showing multiple ALEC education bills were introduced in Kansas last year, that these bills are not organic solutions for issues in Kansas but are part of a national agenda to de-fund public education and divert precious resources to schools that don’t serve all children and the private and corporate interests behind them, while at the same time weakening teachers’ unions. We note this list is under-inclusive as Kansas’ Innovative School District legislation is missing as well as the mis-named Payroll Protection Act which appears on a different chart but applies to teachers as well.http://www.publicschoolshakedown.org/ALEC-Education-Bills-2013...
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