Voter Registration Deadline Looms July 12th

As we have highlighted before, the voter registration deadline for the Aug. 2 primary is quickly approaching. Complete registration information must be filed at your County Clerk’s office by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 12.

Recent rulings in different court cases have still left things up in the air on the proof of citizenship requirements that were adopted in Kansas in 2014.  To be safe we recommend having the appropriate documentation as outlined below available when you register.

Evidence Required

Any person registering to vote in Kansas for the first time will be required to provide satisfactory evidence of United States citizenship. Individuals registered to vote in Kansas as of the effective date of this requirement are deemed to have submitted proof of citizenship and are exempt from the requirement as long as they remain on the voter registration list. Moving from one place to another within Kansas or modifying one's registration records does not require the person to re-submit proof of citizenship. If a voter's registration is canceled, the person must submit a citizenship document when re-registering.

If a citizenship document is not provided at the time the person submits his or her voter registration application, it may be submitted at a later time. Such person may (1) mail or deliver the document to the county election office by the close of business on the day before the election, or (2) submit it electronically by midnight the day before the election. "Electronically" means fax, email or other electronic means approved by the Secretary of State.

Valid Citizenship Documents

• Birth certificate that verifies United States citizenship
• United States passport or pertinent pages of the applicant's valid or expired United States passport identifying the applicant and the applicant's passport number
• United States naturalization documents or the number of the certificate of naturalization
• Other documents or methods of proof of United States citizenship issued by the federal government pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952
• Bureau of Indian Affairs card number, tribal treaty card number or tribal enrollment number
• Consular report of birth abroad of a citizen of the United States
• Certificate of citizenship issued by the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services
• Certification of report of birth issued by the United States Department of State
• American Indian card, with KIC classification, issued by the United States Department of Homeland Security (Note: This document applies only to a small Texas band of the Kickapoo tribe with slightly more than 50 members.)
• Final adoption decree showing the applicant's name and United States birthplace
• United States military record of service showing applicant's place of birth in the United States
• Extract from a United States hospital record of birth created at the time of the applicant's birth indicating the applicant's place of birth in the United States
• Only if the agency indicates on the applicant's driver's license or nondriver's identification card that the person has provided satisfactory proof of United States citizenship, then a driver's license or nondriver's identification card issued by the Kansas Division of Vehicles or the equivalent governmental agency of another state within the United States

No Citizenship Documents

Applicants who cannot meet the citizenship verification requirement because they do not possess any of the documents listed above to prove their U.S. citizenship may:

• if born in Kansas, apply for a free birth certificate using Form BCA (Español), (Affidavit of Person Requesting Free Certified Copy of Birth Certificate) and Form VS-235 10/09 (Application for Certified Copy of Kansas Birth Certificate), or
• if not born in Kansas, instructions for obtaining a birth certificate in another state or territory may be found at the National Center for Health Statistics website, or
• appeal to the state election board for consideration of the registration application by submitting Form RCD (Español) (Request for Consideration of U.S. Citizenship Documents by State Election Board of Kansas).

Registration can be completed by paper or online, and registered voters must verify their eligibility to register with supporting documentation. For step by step instructions and links to paperwork and online registration visit www.VoteKs.org

If you, or friends and family members are not sure of your Voter Registration Status you can find your information including polling place and voter history by following this link to the Kansas Secretary of State website:

https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org/VoterView/Home.do%3bjsessionid=lhyGLjm6jUeWbi4I6ntDq1syUvtKD7nWaSlMzI3l.prim-ksvoterview1

KASB Blog: Does Money Matter?

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

NEPC answers the question "Does Money Matter?"

The following post presents research or analyses from outside KASB and is presented for information purposes.  KASB neither endorses nor refutes the conclusions or recommendations contained herein.

This month, the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) released a research review entitled "Does Money Matter?" The report gives a very good review of the debate related to the connection between school funding and student outcomes. You can read it here.

The report notes the 1966 Coleman Report, which found that outside-of-school factors had a much higher impact on student outcomes than school-level factors, marks the beginning of the current debate. Eric Hanushek's 1986 article which asserted "variations in school expenditures are not systematically related to variations in student performance" is reported as a widely cited and influential. Others, including Hedges, Laine, Greenwald, Baker, and Welner have published work that contradicts this finding.

By the 90's, the author states, the debate moved from "does money matter" to how much and where money matters. He indicates the following as conclusions and recommendations:

• Adequate and equitable distributions of school financial resources are a necessary underlying condition for maintaining democracy, improving school quality and equality of outcomes.
• While specific results vary from place to place, in general, money does matter and it matters most for economically deprived children.
• Gains from investing in education are found in test scores, later earnings, and graduation rates.
• The largest gains in achievement have been in states that have undertaken fundamental financial reforms.
• In any case, money must be spent wisely. In some cases, necessary expenditures (facilities, administration, etc.) will not be reflected in academic gains.
• Among the most productive investments resulting from increased spending are
• High-quality preschool
• Small class sizes – particularly in lower grades and for economically deprived children.
• Teacher pay
• Additional learning time has a positive effect on academic motivation and low - performing students.

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.

KASB Blog: Judiciary Committees End Pre-Session; Democrats Unveil Finance Plan

House, Senate judiciary committees end pre-session meeting; Democrats unveil school finance plan

After two days of meeting, Republican majorities on the House and Senate judiciary committees declined to endorse recommending compliance with the Kansas Supreme Court ruling on school finance and instead, at least on the Senate side, teed up debate for a proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit the court from closing schools.

The committees met jointly Thursday and Friday to consider possible school funding changes and possible constitutional amendments in preparation for the start of a special legislative session on June 23 to address a ruling from the court that the Legislature fix equity funding to schools by June 30, the end of the fiscal year.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved recommending that when the session starts, a proposed constitutional amendment be introduced that will prohibit the court or the Legislature from closing a school as part of a remedy in school finance litigation.

State Sen. Jeff King, R-Independence, and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the amendment is needed to prevent a disruption of schools but Democrats said limiting what the court can use as a remedy would destroy the balance of power between the three branches of government and deny Kansans the right to seek redress of wrongs in the court. The House Judiciary Committee made no recommendation on proposed constitutional amendments.

Any amendment to the Kansas Constitution would require two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate before being placed on the ballot. Officials said if an amendment were approved during the special session, it would be on the Nov. 8 ballot for consideration. There is already a state law that prohibits the state Supreme Court from closing schools.

On the issue of school finance, both the House and Senate judiciary committees approved sending to each chamber's respective budget committees, the minutes, from the two days of meetings, but without any recommendations. A specific motion before the House Judiciary Committee to recommend the House Appropriations Committee raise $38 million to comply with the court ruling was defeated by Republicans as Democrats and several Republicans voted for it.

Both judiciary committees also said they would study further whether to try to fashion a so-called "hold harmless" provision to keep funding level for districts that might lose some funding in an equity fix.

Meanwhile, House and Senate Democrats unveiled a plan to fund approximately $39 million in response to the court's equity ruling.

The proposal would use $15.2 million from the current extraordinary needs fund, $13 million from a job creation fund in the Kansas Department of Commerce, $7.3 million by freezing the level of funding for virtual school funding, $3 million from federal welfare funds and $750,000 now set aside for tax credits for private school scholarships.

The Democrats also said they would oppose proposed constitutional amendments aimed at limiting the Kansas Supreme Court.

"It's beyond time for us to get to work to address the real problem so that all Kansas children, no matter where they live in Kansas, have access to a quality education next school year," said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka.

Democrats are vastly outnumbered by Republicans, 32-8 in the Senate and 98-27 in the House.

KASB UPDATE: Education advocates urge compliance with court ruling on school finance; committee discussion Friday

Education advocates urge compliance with court ruling on school finance; committee discussion Friday

Education advocates on Thursday urged legislators to raise the necessary funds to comply with a Kansas Supreme Court order on school finance and to leave the court alone. But powerful interest groups and leading state officials have proposed constitutional amendments aimed at the court and they say the recent ruling on school equity can be met within existing appropriations to the school system.

Testimony on school finance and the judicial battle was given to the House and Senate judiciary committees, which conducted a joint meeting in the run-up to the special legislative session that starts June 23. The joint committee meeting will continue Friday in which legislators will discuss possible recommendations to the full Legislature.

Last month, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled the Legislature's school finance law failed to provide enough equity funding to poor districts and said an unconstitutional school finance system couldn't extend beyond June 30, the end of the fiscal year. Gov. Sam Brownback and his Republican allies said the court was threatening to close schools and needed to be reined in.

But on Thursday, school groups, including KASB, and education advocates recommended that legislators quickly comply with the court ruling and allocate anywhere from $38 million to $50 million deemed necessary. Here is a link to testimony before the committee.

The school representatives said the Legislature should avoid even the possibility of school closures, saying a shutdown would have a devastating impact on schools, parents, students and the state.

David Smith, a spokesman for Kansas City USD 500, pleaded with legislators, noting that most of his district's students come from impoverished backgrounds and are relying on public school education to "realize the American dream."

KASB, United School Administrators of Kansas, the Kansas School Superintendents Association, representatives of Kansas City, Wichita and Pratt school districts recommended restoration of equity formulas already approved by the court. For districts that could lose funding by returning to previous Local Option Budget equalization, the groups said they would support a "hold harmless" provision if it were provided to all districts in similar circumstances. Later in the day, Johnson County chambers of commerce and school officials from Blue Valley, De Soto, Gardner-Edgerton, Olathe and Shawnee Mission recommended the previous LOB formula and hold harmless.

But the Kansas Chamber, which is the state's largest business lobbying organization, said the funding to provide equity could be taken from schools' "unencumbered funds" and distributed by the Kansas State Department of Education. The Kansas Policy Institute, a group that frequently opposes school spending, recommended legislators use existing school funds even if that meant taking money away from some districts and giving it to others. KPI also said if schools are closed during the current funding dispute, then the state should issue vouchers for students to go to public or private schools.

On the issue of proposed constitutional amendments, state Sen. Jeff King, R-Independence and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, passed to committee members a measure that would prohibit the Kansas Supreme Court or Legislature from closing schools. To amend the Kansas Constitution requires a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate and majority vote during an election.

Kansas Chamber President Mike O'Neal, who is a former speaker of the Kansas House, said the chamber supports such a proposal. KPI said the Legislature should consider an amendment to remove the word "suitable" from the portion of the Kansas Constitution that requires the Legislature to "make suitable provision for the finance of the educational interests of the state."

The Kansas Bar Association submitted testimony that said the notion the court is threatening to close schools is misguided and that the court found the Legislature's law doesn't comply with Kansas Constitution. An attorney for the Kansas Legislative Research Department told legislators the court has many options to enforce the ruling short of closing schools.

Several education advocacy groups said any amendment that would limit remedies of the Kansas Supreme Court would weaken state government and the ability of Kansans to seek judicial redress for wrongs.

The KASB Delegate Assembly adopted a resolution that says, "We support the role of an independent judiciary in enforcing constitutional provisions. We oppose either changing the selection process for judges or limiting the ability of the courts to enforce those provisions, which would weaken the traditional separation of powers in Kansas."

Mark Tallman, associate executive director for advocacy at KASB, said, “The people of Kansas placed the requirement for suitable finance of the educational interests of the state in the state constitution precisely in order to provide a higher standard than ordinary legislative majorities. A constitutional right or requirement that cannot be enforced is not right at all.”

KCEG Blog: The Big Shift

The Big Shift By Kansas Center for Economic Growth Senior Fellow Duane Goossen The income tax cuts of 2012 that continue to wreak havoc on the Kansas budget did not actually yield a reduction in taxes for many Kansans. Lawmakers raised other taxes and fees to partially offset the loss of income tax revenue. The net result: Wealthy Kansans still benefited, but the overall tax burden for a wide range of working Kansans went up.   The newest shift cropped up at the end of the legislative session. As a result of income tax cuts, Kansas cannot afford enough highway patrol troopers, so legislators passed a bill to raise vehicle registration fees to cover the cost of hiring more.   But that's a small example of the shift in progress. The following list shows the more consequential changes implemented in the attempt to compensate for income tax cuts: Sales tax raised from 5.7% to 6.15% and then raised further to 6.5%; Renters no longer eligible for homestead property tax refunds; Food sales tax rebates limited; Child care income tax credit, along with many other credits, eliminated (for those who still pay income tax); Cigarette tax raised; and Many income tax deductions limited (for those who still pay income tax). The chart below estimates the average net effect of all the tax changes (the figures come from the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, which has the best model for measuring these types of changes in any state).  Kansans with the lowest income have seen their tax burden go up. For middle-income Kansans, it's been about a wash. Upper-income Kansans, especially those earning more than $500,000 annually, have come out well.   Of course, a sales tax hike takes a far bigger bite out of a small income than a large one. Lower-income Kansans spend a much higher proportion of their resources on food and other items subject to sales tax than wealthy Kansans do. Many states exempt food purchases from sales tax, or at least apply a lower rate. Not Kansas. We now have the highest sales tax rate on food in the nation.   The chart does not even count other kinds of shifts taking place. Property taxes push up as schools and local governments try to react to dwindling state resources. Tuition rises at universities when the state withdraws support. Future taxpayers get saddled with debt because the state borrows to pay for retirement system costs, and borrows through the highway fund to shore up the general fund.   However, even with all this shifting, Kansas remains broke. The hole created by the income tax cuts has been so significant that shifts to other tax sources have not come close to stabilizing the state's finances.   Income tax cuts benefited the wealthiest Kansans, but without any obligation to create a job or even spend their tax savings in Kansas. In return, the state received financial turmoil. Many Kansans now pay more to fund state government at the same time that school class sizes go up and highway maintenance gets put aside.   If you are a Kansan and do not feel like you've had a tax cut, that's because you probably did not get one.    # # #   See KCEG's latest research & analysis, including briefs, infographics and other blogs, on our website.

Kansas Center for Economic Growth 720 SW Jackson St, Ste 203 Topeka, Kansas 66603

KASB Report: Governor Brownback Will Call Special Session

Brownback will call special session but date unknown

Eleven days after the Kansas Supreme Court said the new school finance equity law was unconstitutional, Gov. Sam Brownback said he would call a special legislative session to address the ruling and also repeated his criticism of the court.

Brownback said on Tuesday the special session would be later this month, adding that he would set a specific date later. Some legislators have said the special session would likely be after June 20.

Brownback also said he "will do everything I can to keep this session focused on education." During a special session, legislators can work on other measures as well and is it expected that some proposals will be floated.

On May 27, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the Legislature's attempt to fix Local Option Budget inequities was unconstitutional and actually increased inequality among districts. The Court, again in the long-running dispute, gave the Legislature until the last day of the fiscal year, June 30, to fix the inequities.

On June 1, the Legislature convened its official end of the 2016 legislative session, but Republicans, who hold significant majorities in the House and Senate, couldn't agree on how to address the ruling. Some Republicans said the Legislature should defy the court while Democrats and some other Republicans called on Brownback to bring the Legislature back into an overtime session. Democrats had even started a petition drive to force a session. Meanwhile, schools were in limbo, fearing a shutdown that would disrupt summer activities at schools and the start of the next school year.

In his announcement, Brownback slammed the court, saying, "After discussion with Legislative Leadership, I have decided to call a special session to keep Kansas schools open, despite the Court’s threat to close them. It is distressing that the Kansas Supreme Court has put the schools and Legislature of Kansas in this position over less than 1 percent of school funding."

The court has said it cannot allow the continuance of an unconstitutional school finance law that is dis-equalizing to students and taxpayers.

Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley said he was glad Brownback decided to call a special session but was concerned Brownback and his allies would try to set up another confrontation with the court.

"The parents and children of Kansas deserve much more than to play politics with fairly funding our schools," Hensley said.

But like Brownback, House Speaker Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell, also criticized the court. "The Kansas Supreme Court has made their desire to close Kansas schools this year crystal clear. Their willingness to use Kansas children for their own political gain is despicable," Merrick said.

The last time the Legislature met in special session over school finance was in 2005 when because of a Kansas Supreme Court decision legislators convened for 12 days before hammering out a funding increase for schools.