KASB Blog: School Board Members Invited to Start of Special Legislative Session to Address School Finance

School board members invited to attend start of special session

With a special session on school finance starting Thursday, the KASB Executive Committee is inviting school board members to come to Topeka to urge legislators to do what is needed to ensure Kansas students are successful.

KASB President Don Shimkus and President-elect Amy Martin issued a joint statement, saying, “Our calm, respectful presence will bolster the legislators working to protect schools. And encourage the rest to do the right thing. For the right reason.”

The special session starts at 8 a.m. Thursday. Those coming to the Statehouse can meet in the Visitor’s Center, which KASB has secured from 8 a.m. to noon. A joint meeting of the House and Senate budget committees will start at 9 a.m. in room 346-South. That meeting is expected to go to at least noon and will be followed by a House Appropriations Committee meeting on school finance legislation in room 114-North.

It is crucial legislators hear from school board members, who as community leaders and knowledgeable advocates for education, are uniquely qualified to provide information that will help legislators make the right decisions.

Board members are needed to provide a strong presence to our Legislature by wearing their school shirts to show support, attend and observe House and Senate sessions in the gallery, get other board members and concerned parents to travel to Topeka and be a source of information for legislators and the media.

Gov. Sam Brownback called the Legislature back into session to address the Kansas Supreme Court’s school finance decision in which the court directed the state to fix equity funding.

As legislators return to work, the session will likely be contentious with many competing ideas and special interests on how to address the court ruling. Many groups have scheduled rallies. School board members must encourage legislators and keep them focused on what is needed to protect and improve our excellent Kansas public schools.

Please also follow media reports and KASB, through News Briefs, Twitter and Facebook to stay abreast of developments during the session. If you plan to travel to the Statehouse on Thursday, please contact KASB.  KASB will always be available to provide informal information and briefings on developments during the special session.