KASB Post: Stay Politically Engaged

Legislators urge education advocates to stay politically engaged

Three legislators who voted for increased school funding and the tax changes to support K-12 and other parts of the state budget urged education advocates to stay politically engaged to protect the new direction of Kansas.

State Reps. Russ Jennings of Lakin, Bradley Ralph of Dodge City and John Wheeler of Garden City offered brief comments Wednesday during KASB’s advocacy tour on “A New Day in Kansas Education.” KASB’s advocacy team has been traveling statewide to have conversations about new education initiatives. 

During the 2017 regular session, Jennings, Ralph and Wheeler were part of a GOP-Democratic coalition that approved a new school finance formula and reversed much of Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax changes that led to severe revenue shortfalls.

Jennings, in his fifth year as a legislator, said the Legislature was able to start repairing the damage to state government from the past few years, but serious challenges remained. “We’re on the right path,” he said, but added it will take “a long period of restoration” to recover from years of inadequate state revenue.

He urged education advocates to reach out to the business community to help restore the value of educators in Kansas. Garden City USD 457 School Board President Lara Bors also emphasized the need for school districts to work with the local business community. She praised business leaders in Garden City who have a long-running program of providing monetary awards to local teachers for their work.

Ralph, who is a freshman legislator, said many legislators don’t understand the intricacies of public school operations like school advocates do and it is the responsibility of advocates to help legislators understand. “You can’t just sit tight. You have to keep talking to them,” he said.

Wheeler, also a freshman, said while the legislative process can be frustrating sometimes, “This year our Legislature worked very well.”

Jennings said he expects those who supported the tax changes will be pummeled with negative campaign tactics next year. “We’re up to the challenge,” he said. “We do it because we care about our state.”

This year, the Legislature approved a new school finance plan and increased K-12 funding by approximately $290 million over two years. The increase represented the first time in years that state funding surpassed inflation and the new formula replaced a two-year block grant system that kept funding flat. The formula and new dollars are being reviewed by the Kansas Supreme Court which ordered the Legislature to provide adequate funding.

In addition, the Kansas State Board of Education is implementing its Kansans Can vision, which calls for the state to lead the world in student success; the Kansas State Department of Education is set to announce selection of 14 schools for a major redesign project to coincide with the Kansans Can vision and the department has implemented a new school district accountability system.

KASB says the confluence of these efforts to increase student success represents “A New Day in Kansas Education.” KASB urges school board members, administrators, legislators, State Board members, and local leaders to attend these sessions. You don’t need to register and there is no cost.  Below is a schedule of meetings.

Thur. Aug. 3

10 a.m.  in Colby at the Board of Education Room, 600 W. 3rd St.

3:30 p.m. in Great Bend at the Board of Education office, 201 S. Patton Rd.

Mon. Aug. 7

10 a.m. in Hiawatha at Hiawatha High School, 600 Red Hawk Drive.

11:30 a.m. in Herington at Herington Elementary, 1403 N. 6 St.

6 p.m. in Hutchinson at the Hutchinson Career & Technical Education Academy, 800 15th Cir.

Tue. Aug. 8

9:30 a.m. in Haysville at the Haysville Activity Center, 523 Sarah Lane.

6 p.m. in Wichita at the AMAC (Alvin Morris Administration Center), 903 S. Edgemoor, Room 310.

Wed. Aug. 9

3:30 p.m. in Leavenworth at the Board of Education Office, 200 N. 4th St.

Thur. Aug. 10

10 a.m.  in Lawrence at the College & Career Center, 2910 Haskell Ave.

4 p.m. in Iola at the Iola High School Lecture Hall, 300 E. Jackson Ave.

Fri. Aug. 11

9 a.m. in Emporia at the Mary Herbert Board of Education Room, 1700 W. 7th Ave.

2:30 p.m. in Paola at Paola Middle School library, 405 Hospital Dr.