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Kansas National Education Association

Tax cuts are a cost, says Kansas teachers union

by Bob Weeks on March 18, 2010

For those who believe in the principle of self-ownership, taxes are a violation of that principle. But to those who depend on government for their funding, taxes are viewed differently. To them, any move to reduce taxes is viewed as a cost to government. People who value economic freedom, however, view tax cuts as the government allowing citizens to keep more of what is rightfully theirs.

The Kansas National Education Association (or KNEA, the teachers union) is one such organization that believes that cutting taxes is a cost to Kansas state government instead of a benefit to citizens. Yesterday’s issue of KNEA’s “Under the Dome Today” provides an example of this type of thinking:

The most interesting statement of the day came from Rep. Richard Carlson (R-St Mary’s) who told the committee, “In six and a half hours of debate on the House floor yesterday, not one motion was made to increase taxes so this is where we are.” Carlson himself did offer a tax amendment during that six and a half hours of debate. Carlson’s motion was to eliminate the corporate income tax — a motion which, had it passed, have cost the state in the neighborhood of $250 million!

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Kansans, including governor, rally for school spending, taxes

by Bob Weeks on March 16, 2010

in Wichita and Kansas schools

Today in Topeka supporters of more taxes for Kansas public school spending marched from the headquarters of Kansas National Education Association (or KNEA, the teachers union), to the Kansas Capitol, where they heard from speakers including Governor Parkinson. The crowd, braving the windy and cold weather, was estimated at 1,000 by the Topeka Capital-Journal.

The theme of the rally — besides more taxes and more spending — was the chant “We want what’s right, not what’s left!” I don’t think the participants detected the irony.

Kansas Senator Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat and a schoolteacher, said that keeping class sizes small, keeping quality teachers, and making sure that all children have an equal opportunity to succeed are the right things to do. Early childhood education and more technology are needed. He advocated for increasing state funding of Kansas schools instead of reliance on local property taxes.

He said that investment in education is less expensive than paying to house prisoners.

Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson acted as cheerleader for the crowd. He said that the outcome of the school funding battle will define the type of state we want to be: “Do we want to be a state that tears down our schools and refuses to fund education for our schoolchildren, or do we want to be a state that lifts up our schools, lifts up our teachers, and provides an education for every kid?”

He asked whether we wanted to be a state where only the children of the wealthy can get a good education. He urged the group to go into action by emailing, writing, and calling legislators. He said the message to give them is not only to support education, as all legislators say they support education. Instead, Parkinson said to ask them: “Will you raise taxes to save schools?”

He said we can do this — saving schools, presumably — with just a one cent increase in the sales tax. He said that the “so-called economists” on the right will say that a one cent sales tax will tear down our economy. He referred to the Sedgwick County sales tax used to build the Intrust Bank Arena, saying that people told him they didn’t know when the tax went on and off, claiming that no one noticed it. “Where are our priorities? If we can raise taxes one cent to build an arena, surely we can raise taxes on cent to help every schoolchild.”

Several speakers stressed the importance of education for the future well-being of our economy and country.

Analysis

The Kansas teachers union’s role in this rally is ironic to the point of absurdity, as it has been one of the major impediments to improving public schools. A recent letter in the Wall Street Journal described how the teachers union and its rules has harmed Topeka schools.

School spending supporters spend a lot of time talking about investing in education. But spending on public education is not really investing. It’s simply government spending on government schools. It results in jobs being transferred from the productive private sector to the unproductive public sector.

We must also disagree with the governor when he minimizes the impact of a sales tax on the economy. Despite the governor’s contention — I’ll chalk it up to rhetorical excess — I certainly noticed when the Sedgwick County sales tax started and stopped. A sales tax increase does result in lost private sector jobs. It results in lost economic freedom, as explained in Tax increases will cost Kansas jobs, economic freedom.

If a sales tax increase could be used to fund increased spending on schools without harming the economy, why stop at a one cent increase? Why not three or four cents? Or ten cents on the dollar? As we’ve seen, no amount of increased spending will satisfy the school spending lobby, at least not until all private sector wealth is transferred to the government.

Finally, for those who are willing to cast the lot of Kansas schoolchildren with the current system, consider the Adequate Yearly Funding website created to support this rally. The creator of this site, apparently Noah Slay, a third grade teacher and one of the rally organizers and speakers, evidently doesn’t know how to correctly form the plural of a word like “logo.” Twice the site erroneously creates the plural form of this noun using the greengrocer’s apostrophe: “If you’re creative and enjoy creating interesting and catchy slogans and logo’s …”

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As Kansas teachers union rallies, schools stagnate under its rules

by Bob Weeks on March 16, 2010

in Wichita and Kansas schools

Today in Topeka about one thousand supporters of higher taxes for more Kansas public school spending rallied at the Kansas Capitol. Their march on the statehouse started at the headquarters of the Kansas National Education Association (or KNEA, the teachers union), and KNEA president Blake West spoke at the rally. It’s quite ironic that the teachers union would be so involved in a rally for the improvement of Kansas schools, for as the following letter from the March 12 Wall Street Journal tells us, the teachers union has been a primary factor in the destruction of public education, in this case, the Topeka public schools.

Early on in my 42-year career teaching in public schools, my principals actually took reading groups, helped with math, were present in classrooms, halls, lunch rooms and on playgrounds. They came into one’s classroom unannounced and stayed sometimes for half a day, and they were taking notes. Their background was in teaching and they knew what they were looking for. By the time I retired, the union had required an administrator to give three to four days advance notice, right down to which period he’d be observing. Yearly evaluations became nothing more than a check sheet, and everyone got about the same score.

Our nation has some of the finest teachers in the world, and a goodly number of the worst. Unless and until teachers are evaluated based on what they accomplish, nothing will change.

Cherrie Wiese
Topeka, Kan.

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Kansas school district consolidation, reorganization testimony heard

by Bob Weeks on March 15, 2010

in Wichita and Kansas schools

Last week the Kansas House Education Budget Committee heard testimony on HB 2728. The key provision of this bill is that Kansas school districts would be required to have a minimum of 10,000 students. It also requires conforming to a common chart of accounts, and that school finance information be placed on the internet.

Kansas Senator Chris Steineger, a Democrat from Kansas City, testified as neutral on the bill. He said that Kansas is “bottom-heavy” in terms of the number of governmental units, and school districts are part of these. He said that in the business world, mergers and consolidations take place every day as companies seek to become stronger and more competitive. Voluntary consolidation can be haphazard. He advocated for a business-like approach.

Kansas State Board of Education Member Walt Chappell testified as a proponent of the bill. He said this is a time to “think outside the box.” We need to make good use of the limited resources we have, he said. This reorganization is not a new concept, he said, as it has been thought through for years.

“We’re in a real financial bind,” Chappell said. After Montoy (the Kansas Supreme Court decision in 2005 that ordered increased spending on schools), he said we’ve been spending more that we have revenue coming in. The Montoy spending amounted to an extra $1 billion, and that’s not sustainable. A second factor is that we’ve hired 6,000 new employees in Kansas school districts, with only 2,000 of those being teachers. He said that $587 million went to non-instructional staff.

Chappell said that the goal of the bill is not to close schools and shut down small towns. “We need to make best uses of the resources we already have.” The goal is to not duplicate administrative services and non-instructional activities and staff. We should reduce those expenses and put more money in the classroom for the teachers and the kids. This bill would would give students an opportunity for a balanced curriculum, with opportunities for vocational education or college prep. Teachers would be able to do just one or two class preparations instead of four or five. “Right now our teachers in small schools, many of them are stretched thin. They have to prepare for several different subjects in each day. It’s very hard for them.”

We’re trying to find a way to optimize instructional and non-instructional resources so that we don’t duplicate services, Chappell said. This could lead to savings of $300 million per year.

Chappell said that based on research from school superintendents who have examined this issue, savings are found not by closing schools, not by shutting down small Kansas towns, but by making sure that you don’t duplicate services and resources for administrative and non-instructional activities.

Chappell said that only about half of school district employees are teachers. By becoming more efficient in administrative tasks, more resources could be spent on teachers. Removing duplication of effort is the key to this goal.

The 10,000 student minimum size of the new school districts is important. There are many small school districts in Kansas, he said. A large district creates a large and sustainable tax base. Small school districts are not able to offer a sustainable curriculum. Large districts are also able to obtain the benefits of the division of labor. Finally, combining two very small districts to create a district that’s still very small doesn’t do much to realize the efficiencies of a larger district.

Chappell’s written testimony is available at Kansas School Reorganization Testimony.

Testifying as an opponent to this bill, Kansas Association of School Boards lobbyist Mark Tallman said “School districts are not merely administrative units. They are units of government.” He expressed concern that the administrative office, where school board meetings are held, would be far away from many people.

Tallman showed a map of a hypothetical large district in northwestern Kansas, which he said would encompass 16,000 square miles. This district would lose $21 million in low-enrollment weighting. He presented evidence that the savings in administrative costs would not be large. He also said that since teachers in larger school districts are paid more, the teachers in the new, large districts would need to be paid more. He also said there’s no evidence that these larger districts would improve students achievement.

Linda Kenne, superintendent of the Victoria school system, said that the bill does not mention the word “child.” She urged the committee to replace the word “school district” with the word “children” in the proposed legislation, saying that this changes the connotation of the bill. She said that education is not an expense, it is an investment.

Bill Bohne, vice president of USD 449 school board (Easton, in Leavenworth County), said that the goal of consolidation is to save money, not improve education. He said that consolidation, in fact, will cost money. He referenced a Kansas Association of School Boards document that said that teacher pay will move to that of the highest district. Differences in the textbooks used will result in more cost.

He also claimed that the regional education service centers created by this bill would violate the Kansas Constitution, going so far as to say this bill makes local boards of education a “sham.” He also said that the accounting provisions of the bill would violate the Kansas Constitution. He said this about the changes: “In effect, you have removed us from the general supervision of the state board.”

Bohne said that his district has no desire to join with USD 453 (Leavenworth) schools, which he said has much lower performance.

In conclusion, Bohne stated: “Kansas public education has a national ranking many other states are envious of — we are ranked seventh in National Assessment of Educational Progress (NEAP) scores. And if we compare ourselves internationally, Kansas is ranked sixth in the world in fourth grade math and eighth in the world in 8th grade math.” He said that the future of our education is sacrificed by this bill.

In questions, Representative Gene Rardin asked Chappell about how his claimed savings of $300 million is more than a legislative post audit study said might be achieved. Chappell replied that the study looked at smaller levels of consolidation that what this current bill provides for. He also reiterated that the bill is not about closing schools. He said that the savings are in the areas of bus scheduling, payroll, food service, and maintenance of buildings, for example. He referred to the Kennedy and Little study, which found savings of $1,000 to $2,000 per student.

Chappell also said that the NAEP scores tell us that only one in three students are proficient, notwithstanding Bohne’s claim.

KASB’s Tallman backed up Bohne’s claim of the ranking of Kansas schools by citing an analysis that showed Kansas students doing very well compared to international students. Committee member Arlen Siegfreid made this remark about this claimed lofty performance of Kansas schools on the international stage: “I’m also a little amazed that we managed to lose a lawsuit on the suitability of funding of education while we’re hitting those numbers.”

Written testimony in support of this bill was provided by two former Kansas school officials, and is available at Morris L. Reeves testimony on Kansas School Reorganization and Gary W. Norris Testimony on Kansas School Reorganization .

Analysis

Tallman’s contention that school districts are “units of government” is at odds with most public school officials, who bristle at the use of the term “government schools.” This hearing also lets us know that KASB uses NAEP scores when it suits their cause. Otherwise, it dismisses them as not meaningful. The biggest problem for Kansas schools spending advocates is the discrepancy between the rapidly rising Kansas state assessment scores and the flat or slowly rising NAEP scores.

Bohne — the Easton school board member — made some claims about the constitutionality of the bill that are not reasonable, in my opinion. His claims that consolidation will increase cost instead of reducing it are not based on actual evidence.

Consolidation is a controversial issue, no doubt about it. The school spending lobby, lead by KASB’s Tallman and Kansas National Education Association (or KNEA, the teachers union) resists any change, no matter how beneficial it might be. In the issue of KNEA’s Under the Dome Today that covered this hearing, we see the appeal to emotion instead of reason: “in northwest Kansas, 18 counties would need to merge together as one district!” The newsletter also asks: “which towns will die? How many hours will kids spend on buses? How many miles will our high school students have to drive to reach the new high school?”

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Kansas schools fail to make cut for grants

by Bob Weeks on March 5, 2010

in Wichita and Kansas schools

Last year Secretary of Education Arne Duncan created a program named “Race to the Top” which would make grants to states that are willing to make certain reforms. Two such reforms prominently mentioned by Duncan and President Barack Obama are charter schools and merit pay for teachers.

We now know that Kansas was not selected to receive a grant, at least not in the first round. Kansas had applied for $166 million.

Kansas is falling behind the rest of the states in the types of innovation that Race to the Top was designed to promote. Specifically, the Kansas charter school law is weak. Anyone wishing to start a charter school must seek approval of the local school district. Most school districts in Kansas, especially the Wichita district, are hostile towards any lessening of the government school monopoly. As a result, there are very few charter schools in Kansas. It is likely that this played a role in the decision not to award a grant to Kansas.

Kansas is also unlikely to implement any sort of merit pay for teachers. As I reported last year in Kansas school establishment rejects reform: “In particular, the document Teaching in Kansas Commission: Final report, makes it clear that teacher merit pay in Kansas is not desired unless it is so watered-down as to be meaningless.”

Besides resisting merit pay, the Kansas National Education Association (or KNEA, the teachers union) is also opposed to charter schools. The national teachers union is too, as the Wall Street Journal reported last year: “NEA President Dennis Van Roekel told the Washington Post last week that charter schools and merit pay raise difficult issues for his members, yet Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said states that block these reforms could jeopardize their grant eligibility.”

It turns out that the prediction of Secretary Duncan was fulfilled. Kansas, with a teachers union that blocks reform at every step, is failing to keep up with innovations in education. Kansas should implement these reforms for their own good.

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Kansas advocates for disabled face well-funded challenger

by Bob Weeks on February 15, 2010

in Kansas state government

Friday’s press event held by ACT (Advocates in Communities Team) of South Central Kansas provided an opportunity to learn about disabled Kansans and their families, and the challenges they face from reduced spending by the state.

The stories told at the event and in supplementary materials are compelling. If there is a role for government-provided services to those who can’t help themselves, these are the people.

But a problem that advocates for the disabled face is that the major recipient of Kansas general fund spending — that’s the K through 12 public school spending lobby — has enormous resources at its disposal. And it doesn’t like to share.

Legislators tell me that the budget this year is a battle between the school spending lobby and everyone else. I spoke to several advocates for the disabled, and they assured me that it’s not a battle between these two competing interests. But the schools have, so far, fared very well. Figures I obtained in December from the Kansas State Department of Education indicate that spending, on a per pupil basis, is estimated to drop by 3.43% for the current school year. That’s not a lot, despite the claims of the school spending lobby.

The school lobby is well-funded and the most powerful in the statehouse. The Kansas National Education Association (or KNEA, the teachers union) has a political action committee, which spent, according to IRS filings, $344,941 on political activity in 2008. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. KNEA itself has revenue of over $8 million annually, and can afford to pay at least four employees salaries over $100,000.

KNEA’s sister organization — they share a well-paid lobbyist — the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB) had revenues of $4,167,025 in 2007. It can afford to pay its executive director $201,927 in salary and benefits in 2007, along with an expense account of $11,331.

In addition, some school districts like Wichita USD 259 employ full-time lobbyists.

The primary purpose of these organizations and lobbyists is to keep the river of taxpayer money flowing to the government schools at the expense of everyone else, including disabled people and taxpayers. Even if a “revenue solution” (that’s a euphemism for a tax increase) is found, schools will be out front arguing that they should get the largest share.

Cuts to schools mean that parents might have to pay for schoolchildren to participate in athletics. It might mean that class sizes grow a little, which is not a bad thing, despite schools’ claims. The school districts that have passed bond issues might consider delaying their building booms a few years.

None of these things seem as important as care for the disabled in Kansas.

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Kansas school spending advocates exaggerate employment losses

by Bob Weeks on February 11, 2010

in Wichita and Kansas schools

Yesterday I reported how Kansas school spending advocates lie about facts in order to score political points with their constituencies. Today we again see how the school spending lobby distorts facts, this time in a very substantial way concerning an important matter.

The Kansas Watchdog piece Debunking Education Employment Claims uncovers a significant gap between numbers self-reported by Kansas schools and numbers gathered by a different source.

The Kansas State Department of Education asked school districts how many employees they will cut for the current school year. The answer — 3,701 employees to be cut across the state — is widely cited by school spending advocates like the Kansas National Education Association (or KNEA, the teachers union) and the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB) as evidence that public schools are making their share of cuts along with everyone else. Further, they say, more cuts will be harmful to the education of Kansas schoolchildren.

But evidence gathered by the Kansas Legislative Research Department finds that the actual decline in employment is only 875 jobs. That’s a lot different from 3,701.

The magnitude of this gap — the self-reported number is over four times the actual number — gives us yet another reason to carefully examine the facts that the school spending lobby produces and cites.

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To Kansas school spending advocates, criticism comes fast and loose

by Bob Weeks on February 10, 2010

in Uncategorized, Wichita and Kansas schools

As the debate over the funding of Kansas public schools goes on, sometimes facts get lost in the shuffle, and school spending advocates sometimes invent “facts” in order to score political points by criticizing those working to bring inconvenient facts to light.

Besides spending advocates, journalists can get caught up in this. In a recent news story in the Hays Daily News, the paper reported a claim made by Linda Kenne, Victoria USD 432 superintendent. Here it is:

One particular corporation seems to drive the efforts. Kenne said, “Koch Industries’ address is the same as the Kansas Policy Institute.” “Do you want the state to be owned by Koch Industries?” she asked.

The reporter of this story, Dawne Leiker, quoted a government official who said something. I guess that constitutes news. But responsible reporting and journalism requires that there be at least some factual basis underlying the statement, or the reporter needs to say so. In this case, the facts are that the two organizations do not share the same address.

It’s worth noting that Leiker writes for the leftist blogs Everyday Citizen and Kansas Free Press. At Everyday Citizen you may read her poem Ode to Conservatism, in which she likens conservatives to “pit bulls, bedecked with luscious lips” who are offended by the existence of poor people, and that opportunity goes to those who beg for it, presumably from rich conservatives.

It’s tempting to feel a little empathy for school spending advocates like superintendent Kenne, as Kansas Policy Institute has uncovered and given publicity to large fund balances that schools could be using if they want to. And it’s not just KPI that says so. Kansas Deputy Commissioner of Schools Dale Dennis agrees.

But that’s not an excuse for playing fast and loose with facts.

Kenne may be taking her cue from the Kansas National Education Association (or KNEA, the teachers union). It, along with the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB), is at the forefront of defending the status quo in Kansas public school spending — that being a rapid rise. Their lobbyists and publications also show little regard for facts when scoring political points by criticizing those who uncover facts inconvenient for them.

As an example, a recent edition of “Under the Dome Today” referred to the “Kansas Policy Institute whose board of directors includes Koch Industries executives.” The facts are that of the members of the KPI Board of Trustees, two are former Koch industries employees. Neither has worked there for many years.

Misreporting simple facts like this should give us reason to question the facts used to support their larger and more important arguments.

Underlying this is the puzzle as to why Wichita-based Koch Industries is the subject of so much criticism from Kansas school spending advocates. With some 2,100 employees in Wichita and owning a large amount of property, Koch Industries and its employees pay many millions in taxes that go to school districts and other functions of government.

The company is involved in other ways, too. In 1991, Charles and Elizabeth Koch founded (and a Koch Family Foundation continues to fund) Youth Entrepreneurs Kansas, which “teaches free enterprise fundamentals through hands-on experiences and encourages students to start their own business, enhance their business skills for future career opportunities and continue into higher education.” YEK is present in many Wichita and surrounding area public schools.

As another example of Koch Foundation generosity, a page on the Wichita public school website tells of Education EDGE Koch Focus mini-grants given to support classroom projects in several areas.

Further, a recent letter appearing in the Wichita Eagle told of this: “Thanks to the support of USD 259’s administration, the financial generosity of the Koch foundation, and the expertise of Gilder Lehrman and the Bill of Rights Institute, programs such as these are having a profound positive impact on history and civics education.”

We need to carefully examine the facts and arguments advanced by school spending advocates. They could also learn to say “thank you” now and then.

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Kansas teachers union makes it easy to ask for money

by Bob Weeks on January 29, 2010

in Wichita and Kansas schools

Thanks for Kansas Liberty for uncovering an effort of the Kansas National Education Association (or KNEA, the teachers union) to make it easy for school spending advocates to ask for more tax money.

This is part of the effort by the Kansas school spending lobby to pass tax increases on Kansans so that schools won’t have to face the same tough choices that businesses and families have to make.

The KNEA effort makes it easy to solicit legislators with just a few clicks of the mouse. There is a list of talking points with red arrows. By clicking on the arrows, folks who want to tax their fellow Kansans can include boilerplate text in their message to legislators.

Here are the teachers union talking points:

Kansas is in serious trouble. And it is not trouble caused by overspending; it is caused by over cutting.
Cuts made by the state in Medicaid have caused Kansans with disabilities to lose services and low-paid care-givers have seen their pay decline.
Our schools have cut employees and for the first time in generations, the educational opportunities available to our children are at risk of being cut and lost.
The safety of our communities is at risk as you approve cuts that will turn prisoners lose and close down correctional facilities.
Repairs and reconstruction on our highways will come to a halt if the state doesn’t get serious about these funding challenges.
For too long the legislature has been handing out corporate tax cuts while vulnerable programs have to cope with fewer and fewer resources. A legislature that is more interested in protecting corporate tax cuts than the vulnerable citizens of this state is a legislature that has lost its moral compass.
We have long enjoyed life in a state that knew how take care of its people, educate its children, and build great roads and highways. That quality of life is being eroded right now.
But you, as a state legislature, can turn things around. I urge you to pass a tax bill that will stop these cuts and protect our quality of life. House Bill 2475 will do that. And I for one am willing to pay a few pennies more for a loaf of bread if it means our schools stay open, our seniors have access to home-based care, the disabled are given a helping hand, our roads remain top quality, and our communities are kept safe.
Please support a revenue increase to protect the lives of Kansas citizens.

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For Kansas teachers union, fund balances are an illusion, not a solution

by Bob Weeks on January 21, 2010

in Wichita and Kansas schools

Today’s edition of Under the Dome Today — that’s the house organ of the Kansas National Education Association (or KNEA, the teachers union) — contains a story with the headline “Anti-Government Group launches another attack on public education.”

A more accurate headline might read “School spending advocacy group refuses to acknowledge budget solution that Kansas Deputy Education Commissioner Dale Dennis says could be used.” But that’s a tad wordy.

The headline is over a story reporting on Kansas Policy Institute president Dave Trabert’s testimony to the Kansas House Appropriations Committee. In this testimony, according to the writer for the teachers union, Trabert “gave a presentation attacking the K-12 education system.”

KPI has found that Kansas schools are sitting on fund balances of some $700 million that could be used to make it through a tough budget year. Using these funds could let schools operate without making cuts to their budgets, and without increasing taxes or finding “revenue enhancements.”

School spending advocates dispute this. But Kansas Deputy Education Commissioner Dale Dennis agrees with Trabert that these fund balances could be used — if the schools wanted to.

Schools, however, would rather find additional sources of revenues. Everyone else calls these taxes.

Chief school spending lobbyist Mark Tallman of the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB) argued, according to the report, “many of the funds Trabert labels reserves are restricted or necessary to cover costs before government payments are received.”

That’s true. But this argument, just like a faulty op-ed written by Kansas school board member David Dennis, says nothing about whether the balances in these funds are too high, too low, or just right.

The evidence we do have — uncovered by KPI — tells us that the balances in these funds are more than needed. That’s because they’ve been growing rapidly, by 53 percent over the last four years. The only way the fund balances can grow is if schools aren’t spending the money as fast as it’s going in the funds.

Mentioning facts like this somehow, according to the Kansas teachers union, constitutes an attack on public schools.

Here’s a question that Kansans should insist that school spending advocates like the Kansas teachers union and the Kansas Association of School Boards answer: Why did all school districts in Kansas except four declined to participate in efficiency audits last year? That’s an attack on the Kansas taxpayer, and also on Kansas schoolchildren who aren’t benefiting from the inefficiencies these audits could reveal.

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Kansas news digest

by Bob Weeks on December 21, 2009

in Kansas news media

News from alternative media around Kansas for December 21, 2009.

KNEA uses incomplete funding data to argue for tax hikes

(Kansas Liberty) “Kansas State Department of Education Deputy Commissioner says a common practice of legislators and school advocates is only citing the base state aid K-12 receives for gauging funding levels.”

Democrat drops out of governor’s race

(Kansas Liberty) “Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Wiggans announced yesterday that he was dropping out of the race amid allegations that he had acted in an ethically questionable manner at a previous job.”

Economist calls for scrapping state income tax

(Kansas Reporter) “Kansas’ economy — and its taxpayers — would be a lot better off if the state scrapped its current income tax system and replaced it with a single, 8 percent sales tax, says University of Kansas economist Art Hall. Hall, executive director of the university’s Center for Applied Economics, said a proposed 8 percent retail sales tax would replace 36 other state level taxes, including personal and corporate income taxes and would help make Kansas one of the most growth oriented state tax environments in the nation. Kansans would still pay local school district and property taxes, however.”

State executives line up to detail budget cuts

(Kansas Reporter) Kansas budget cuts mean state highways will stay snowpacked longer and wear out faster, the state’s transportation secretary, Deb Miller, told state Senate Ways and Means Committee members Tuesday. … Miller was one of 10 state executives or other officials who spoke to the Senate’s top budget writing panel about some of the challenges that an estimated $5.3 billion in Kansas tax revenues this year will present to their departments.”

Schools for Fair Funding to sue state for more education funding

(Kansas Watchdog) “The Schools for Fair Funding group met in Salina today and voted to sue the state for more funding for education. A number of Kansas media sources reported about this meeting. … None of these news sources ask questions that must be answered.”

Ethics Commission Approves Advisory Opinion

(Kansas Watchdog) “An assistant state attorney general received permission Wednesday to work for a private tobacco ‘Master Settlement Agreement’ clearinghouse as long as he doesn’t deal with Kansas matters.”

Letter From The Newsroom — Holiday Edition

(State of the State, Kansas) “This week we look at 6 people who served as the Governor of Kansas. We also visit the Kansas Historical Society to find out about Christmas Past in Kansas.”

Governor says ‘no’ to more Medicaid or education cuts

(Kansas Health Institute News Service) “The state needs a higher levy on tobacco and a new nursing home tax would help the industry, the governor said today in an interview with KHI News Service. Other taxes also should be explored to help balance the budget because cuts to needed services over the past two years have gone too deep already, he said.”

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KNEA uses incomplete funding data to argue for tax hikes

by Bob Weeks on December 15, 2009

in Wichita and Kansas schools

In a story illustrated with several charts, Kansas Liberty shows that the Kansas National Education Association or (KNEA, the teachers union), is not to be trusted when talking about Kansas school finance.

Why?

School spending advocates claim that spending on schools in Kansas is declining rapidly. It’s true that base state aid per pupil, the starting point for the Kansas school finance formula, has been cut.

But when considering the total spending by schools, a quite different picture emerges. From the Kansas Liberty story:

Dale Dennis, deputy commissioner of education for the Kansas State Department of Education, said the discrepancy in reports is a result of the common practice of legislators and school advocates only citing the base state aid K-12 receives for gauging funding levels.

“They use general state aid, which is the primary operating fund,” Dennis told Kansas Liberty. “But they don’t use the total.”

The complete story is at KNEA uses incomplete funding data to argue for tax hikes.

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Kansas school spending advocates: no alternative views welcome

by Bob Weeks on November 25, 2009

in Wichita and Kansas schools

On Monday and Tuesday, the Kansas House Appropriations Committee held hearings, and big topics were Kansas school funding and the Kansas budget. The reaction by school spending advocates to two speakers is illustrative of the highly divisive nature of public school operation and funding in Kansas.

We need to label them school spending advocates — and government schools at that — because it is increasingly apparent that increasing school spending (or avoiding necessary reductions in spending) at the expense of all reason is their goal. Suggestions that schools should operate more efficiently or learn to live with a little less — as many Kansas families and businesses are doing — will result in attacks on the messenger, sometimes unnecessarily personal in nature.

Monday’s education-related testimony started with Kansas State Board of Education member Walt Chappell, followed by former Kansas Education Commissioner Bob Corkins. My reporting of their testimony is at At House Appropriations, Chappell presents Kansas school funding ideas and Corkins testifies on school finance history, recommendations.

An example of the criticism made by government school spending advocates is that of Kathy Cook of Kansas Families for Education. In her newsletter she spoke of “Black Monday in Topeka,” writing “From House Appropriations to the Governor’s press briefing, it was nothing but bad news for our schools and our students. It was the longest drive home, and not without tears for all that is about to be lost for our kids.”

She made personal attacks on both Chappell and Corkins without making substantive criticism about their testimony.

At the Kansas National Education Association (or KNEA, the teachers union), the “Under the Dome Today” newsletter carried a heading reading “Walt Chappell, Bob Corkins attack public education.” I heard no such attack from either speaker. They suggested ways that schools could operate differently to save money (Chappell) and to organize their reporting and accounting to better track spending and results (Corkins).

To the Kansas education establishment, evidently, these suggestions represent unwanted meddling in school affairs.

Reacting to the testimony of Chappell and Corkins, one leftist Kansas blog took the committee and its chairman to task for holding “a hearing that was lopsided even by Adolf Eichmann’s standards.” I was there for the entire afternoon, and after these two spoke, I heard three school district superintendents plea for more funds. Then, topping off the day was chief school spending and taxing advocate Mark Tallman, the lobbyist for the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB). There was, believe me, much pleading for more school funding.

Some of the testimony was difficult to listen to. Fred Kaufman, superintendent of the Hays school system, said twice that there is no advocacy group for school administrators. I wonder if he has heard of United School Administrators of Kansas. This organization’s website describes itself as “a statewide ‘umbrella’ organization comprised of members of ten school administrator associations. We represent more than 2,000 individual administrators statewide.”

The backdrop of all this is that the actual decrease in Kansas school funding, when considering all sources of funding, is quite small. As of August — before the governor’s cuts on Monday — estimated Kansas school spending per pupil for the 2009 to 2010 school year, when considering all sources of school revenue, fell by only 0.64%. That’s quite a bit less than one percent. It’s a rounding error, a fluctuation that could also have been caused by events such as, say, a cold winter causing higher utility bills. It’s an event that should have no affect on the ability of the schools to educate children.

The reductions the governor made on Monday will increase the cut that schools will have to absorb. When considering this, it’s important to remember that schools fared much better than many state agencies this year. Schools still have a tremendous amount of money to work with, a fact that schools work hard to hide.

Strong evidence that schools have plenty of money is that fund balances have been increasing. The way that these funds — and we’re talking about nearly $700 million in operating funds, not capital funds — increase their balances is by more money going in than is spent.

The uncovering of the existence of these balances is strongly attacked by school spending advocates. Despite many school administrator’s claims, sunlight and transparency is not their goal.

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Kansas news digest

by Bob Weeks on October 12, 2009

in Politics

News from around Kansas for October 12, 2009

Professors, university officials flunk ethics homework assignment

(Kansas Watchdog) Many State of Kansas officials, including university professors, are required by law to file conflict of interest statements, called “statements of substantial interest (SSIs),” with their institutions and the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission. But 33 university employees are simply ignoring their legal requirements.

Star Parker in Wichita

(Kansas Watchdog) Star Parker, founder and president of the Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE), told the Wichita Rotary Club during a Monday luncheon that freedom and personal responsibility, though under attack from Washington, are the cure for poverty. She went on to say that poverty in the black community was made worse by government dependency

What we learned after school about the KNEA

(Kansas Liberty) But in fact the state’s teachers’ union is a key partner in a coalition of far-left groups — including ACORN — who are demanding a ‘public option’ in health care.

The National Education Association has a reputation for supporting a liberal agenda, from its advocacy of gay marriage to its most recent position, supporting the health care plan being pushed by Democrats, including a public insurance option.

Letter from the Newsroom — Ethanol Edition

(State of the State Kansas) This week we focus on ethanol. It seems strange that something as simple as a kernel of corn is where farming, science, money and politics intersect. Over the course of the week, someone told me that it all came down to Iowa Primary politics. Iowa is in the corn belt and as the first state to cast the primary vote with their December caucus, the speaker speculated that no aspiring politician would ever cross a corn farmer.

Interview with the Kansas Libertarian Party

(State of the State Kansas) Andrew Gray, President of the Kansas Libertarian Party discusses the party goals for 2010.

Kansas 2010 Budget in Crisis

(Kansas Watchdog) The Kansas 2010 budget is headed for a serious shortfall with two of the three most important revenue sources down significantly through September and the third poised to come up short in the coming months.

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KPERS report sparks backlash from Wichita SEIU

by Bob Weeks on October 8, 2009

in Kansas state government

Recently Kansas University professor Art Hall, along with a co-author, published a study explaining the funding crisis in KPERS, the Kansas Public Employee Retirement system. In summary, the report states: “The key finding of the study is that the KPERS system will not be in actuarial balance over the thirty year amortization period set in GASB standards. This means that KPERS will continue to accumulate unfunded liabilities for the foreseeable future. It is highly likely that KPERS will continue to impose a heavy tax burden on future generations.”

This finding has raised quite a protest from those who expect to receive a benefit from KPERS in retirement. It may be the school districts and teachers that are protesting the loudest. What’s really strange is that they’re protesting what appear to be facts based on solid research.

An example of the blowback to this report is when Harold Schlechtweg, business representative of Service Employees International Union Local (SEIU) 513 in Wichita, addressed the board of USD 259, the Wichita public school district regarding the KPERS report. He advocated for raising taxes earlier this year in front of the Wichita City Council so that employees he represents wouldn’t lose their jobs to less expensive outsourcing.

To the school board, he said that when “people make a political intervention — and that’s exactly what that report was — I think that some requirement should be placed on them that they consider the impact of that.”

This is a puzzling statement. Is Schlechtweg asking for some sort of censorship or approval to be obtained before think tanks or advocacy groups publish their articles? I don’t think he would consent to this requirement being placed on himself, as many of his arguments wouldn’t pass any sort of sanity test.

For example, in a Wichita Eagle op-ed earlier this year, Schlechtweg said that if wages and benefits paid to Wichita parks workers were cut, the community would suffer. Let’s remind him who pays the wages and benefits he tried to protect: the taxpayers of the city of Wichita. The interests of the workers he represents are in direct opposition to that of the Wichita taxpayer.

Schlechtweg (and others) object to use of the word bankrupt, but if that accurately describes the financial condition of KPERS, why should we gloss over it?

He also mentioned the large losses in 401k plans. That’s not true for everyone. If a person’s funds were invested in, say, money market funds, there would have been no losses.

Employing the tactics often used by the left when faced with issues not favorable to their cause, Schlechtweg attacks personalities. He slams the authors of the study as “not friends of public education,” naming Americans for Prosperity, the tea party groups, and the Kochs specifically.

He praised the Kansas National Education Association or KNEA, the teachers union), for their work in providing information on this issue. Mr. Schlechtweg, if you’re going to discount the arguments of certain advocacy groups, can we agree that the teachers union is one of the most single-sided, uncompromising, and untruthful advocacy groups?

And while bashing the political motives of others, doesn’t Schlechtweg realize that the KNEA is all about politics, if about anything at all?

The fix for KPERS, he said, is to fund it. A problem, of course, is that taxes will likely have to be raised, and people don’t like to pay taxes. But to advocates like Schlechtweg and the SEIU, that’s not a problem. The taxpayer, it seems, is both their source of funds and focus of their scorn.

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Kansas needs education for prosperity

August 13, 2009

Mark Tallman, assistant executive director of the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB), seems to be making the case that spending on education is more important to a state than moderate tax rates. He makes this case as reported in a recent Topeka Capital-Journal article Education a key to prosperity.

As reported: “Tallman said action next year by Kansas lawmakers to cut spending rather than increase investment in education through tax hikes would weaken student instruction and damage prospects of long term growth in the economy.”

Read the full article →

Kansas Action for Children calls for tax increase

June 24, 2009

Reporting by Paul Soutar of the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy shows Kansas Action for Children (KAC) calling for higher taxes on Kansans.

Soutar cites a KAC report: “The long-term solution to avoid increasing budget gaps is to update and modernize the Kansas tax system in a way that accurately reflects the current economy and generates sufficient revenues for state funding needs.”

Read the full article →

Kansas NEA questions legislative candidates, reveals agenda

June 15, 2009

In Kansas, as across the nation, the teachers union is an important political force. Using a powerful message that no one can oppose — the welfare of schoolchildren — teachers unions press their real agenda.

Read the full article →

Kansas school spending lobby pot calls kettle black

June 9, 2009

After the 2009 Kansas Legislature ended its session in May (notwithstanding the formal closing in June), the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA, the teachers union) produced a document wrapping up the session and setting the stage for the future.

Kansans need to be aware of the agenda of this organization and its allied school spending lobby partners. Using an unimpeachable issue — “it’s all about the kids” — this organization seeks to increase spending on public schools at great cost to Kansas taxpayers.

Read the full article →

School choice is a civil rights issue

June 4, 2009

Al Sharpton called school reform the civil rights challenge of our time. He said that the enemy of opportunity for blacks in the U.S. was once Jim Crow; today, in a slap at the educational establishment, he said it was “Professor James Crow.” Sharpton is only partly correct. School reform is not solely a racial issue; it’s a vital issue for the entire nation.

Read the full article →

Kansas school spending lawsuit possible

June 1, 2009

According to press reports, Schools for Fair Funding — the Montoy school lawsuit finance districts — is examining the possibility of re-opening the school finance lawsuit because of the cuts to education that were made by the 2009 legislature.

Read the full article →

Watkins addresses Kansas budget, Republicans, schools

May 29, 2009

Speaking at at the regular weekly meeting of the Wichita Pachyderm Club on May 22, 2009, Kansas House of Representatives member Jason Watkins addressed the Kansas budget, Kansas Republicans, and school spending.

Regarding the budget during the past legislative session, which ended in May: Watkins felt there was an opportunity for reform that the legislature should have taken advantage of. The injection of federal stimulus money, however, reduced the urgency of the Kansas budget crisis, and no reform took place.

Read the full article →

Kansas, once home to education equality, now lags in freedom

May 16, 2009

At one time Kansas played a leading role in education equality, as Topeka was home to the school that produced the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision by the United States Supreme Court.

Today, however, Kansas lags in educational freedom and choice. The public school lobby in Kansas does everything it can to stomp out any spark of educational freedom and choice in Kansas. The two organizations at the forefront of this effort — the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA, the teachers union) and the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB) — expend huge amounts of energy and money to protect their entrenched interests. Their interests, unfortunately, run contrary to the interests of Kansas schoolchildren and their parents.

Read the full article →

Kansas City charter school succeeds in urban environment

May 10, 2009

USD 259, the Wichita public school district, doesn’t want them.

The Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) — the teachers union — doesn’t want them either.

But where they’re able to exist, charter schools usually do a good job. They often excel. And where they don’t do a good job, they usually go out of business.

Read the full article →

KNEA call for action overstates case, misleads Kansans

May 6, 2009

Today’s edition of Under the Dome Today contains a call for action.

This newsletter is the update of legislative action provided by KNEA, the Kansas National Education Association. For those of you who might think that an organization with such a lofty name is dedicated to the betterment of the education of Kansas schoolchildren, I must remind you that KNEA is the teachers union. Sorry about that.

Read the full article →

KNEA: No shared sacrifice

May 4, 2009

Despite the fact that Kansas school spending has been increasing rapidly in recent years, and despite the fact that K-12 education has been spared the large cuts that most other state agencies are facing, it’s still okay to whine.

That’s the attitude of KNEA (the Kansas National Education Association, the teachers union).

Read the full article →

Kansas teachers union doublespeak not hard to decode

April 23, 2009

Reading the Kansas National Education Association’s — that’s the teachers union, also known as KNEA — report Under the Dome is becoming an exercise in decoding doublespeak.

Today’s issue, which you can read by clicking on Under the Dome Today for April 23, 2009, contains some 417 words that hope for something to happen, without using the words that describe the thing hoped for.

Read the full article →

KNEA’s attitude towards Kansas taxpayers

April 23, 2009

The Kansas National Education Association — that’s the teachers union — shows again that it has little respect for Kansas taxpayers.

The issue of Under the Dome for April 17, 2009 reveals this organization’s appetite for tax revenue is large, and they’re always on the prowl for more.

Read the full article →

KNEA, the Kansas teachers union: more taxes are needed

April 2, 2009

The public education spending lobby in Kansas is always looking for more tax dollars.

A recent edition of the Kansas National Education Association newsletter Under the Dome for March 30, 2009 lays out the education spending lobby’s plans.

Read the full article →

In the Wichita school district, supplies must be really tight

March 22, 2009

Two questions:

With $13,000 to spend each year per pupil, why do teachers have to spend their own personal money on supplies?

Does the Wichita school district really have to rely on the teachers union for supplies such as paper?

Read the full article →

KNEA doesn’t care for Proposition K

March 19, 2009

You can often tell how good a measure will be for taxpayers and prosperity by how strongly the people who live on government spending protest. When they distort arguments to the point of lying, you know it’s going to be really bad for them if a measure passes — and really good for everyone else. Proposition K, a proposal to reform property tax appraisals in Kansas, is such a case.

Read the full article →

Kansas school lobby: not enough spending, not enough taxation

March 6, 2009

In Topeka, the Kansas Association of School Boards rarely misses an opportunity to complain that spending on government schools is too low. The same goes for the Kansas National Education Association, the teachers union.

Read the full article →

Kansas Education Lobby Always Prowling for Tax Dollars

February 19, 2009

In Topeka, the Kansas Association of School Boards rarely misses an opportunity to reach deeper into the taxpayer’s pocket. The same goes for the Kansas National Education Association, the teachers union.

Read the full article →

Still more Kansas National Education Association candidate questions

October 1, 2008

The “Kansas Political Action Committee,” a group associated with the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA, the teachers union) has a questionnaire it asks candidates for the Kansas legislature to complete. After reading a few of these questions, it became clear to me that the questions are formulated to advance the interests of the teachers union and others wrapped up in — and profiting from — the public school bureaucracy and its monopoly on the use of state education funds.

Read the full article →

Kansas National Education Association candidate questions

September 3, 2008

After reading them, it became clear to me that the questions are formulated to advance the interests of the teachers union and others wrapped up in — and profiting from — the public school bureaucracy and its monopoly on the use of state education funds.

The questions contain many statements expressing support for more taxing and spending by the State of Kansas. They serve to illustrate very well the biases and thinking of our state’s educational bureaucracy. Over the next few weeks, I want to present some of these questions and how difficult it is to answer them. Then I think Kansans will then know more about the true agenda of the people running the public school machine in Kansas.

Read the full article →

Regarding School Finance from Senator Karin Brownlee

June 12, 2005

What is the higher priority? Should the Legislature send $143 million more to schools or preserve the form of government our forefathers carefully designed over two hundred years ago? The separation of powers doctrine is fundamental to maintaining our free society because it maintains a balance of powers with the judiciary unable to control the budget. That is until last Friday when the Kansas Supreme Court blurred the lines and came out with a ruling that the Kansas Legislature should appropriate an additional $143 million to the K-12 schools, for starters. The Court expects $568 million more after that.

Read the full article →

KNEA Tax Plan Would Hurt Kansas

March 1, 2005

The powerful and left-wing National Education Association’s Kansas affiliate is working hard to raise your taxes. In a February Olathe News article Terry Forsyth, one of the Kansas National Education Association’s (KNEA) lobbyists, is quoted claiming that there is no correlation between taxes and job growth.

Read the full article →

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