KNEA

Kansas teachers union makes it easy to ask for money

January 29, 2010

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.

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

January 21, 2010

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.

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KPERS report sparks backlash from Wichita SEIU

October 8, 2009

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 caused 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.

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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.”

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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More Kansas National Education Association candidate questions

September 23, 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.

Here’s a question they asked:

KNEA opposes private school vouchers or tuition tax credits. Such proposals will divert needed resources from public schools. KNEA believes that every child in Kansas deserves a quality public school.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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