Category: Wichita and Kansas schools
-
Wichita school district policy is misguided
John Merrow’s education blog has an interesting interview with Eric Hanushek, a leading education researcher. This interview shows just how misguided are the current current path and goals of USD 259, the Wichita public school district.
-
Kansas needs education for prosperity
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…
-
Face to face with the Wichita board of education
Members of the Wichita (USD 259) Board of Education and a handful of district employees attended a “Face to Face” forum luncheon Thursday hosted by the Wichita Independent Business Association. The forums are intended as an informal opportunity for local business owners to meet and interact with government officials. “The purpose is twofold; for them…
-
Audit report reveals important questions
Do some school districts spend your dollars more efficiently than others, and if so, how can the others catch up? An auditing office in Kansas state government started to look at these questions. But what it did not ask — and in some cases, was not allowed to ask-is just as interesting, if not troubling.
-
Wichita school district faces the public
Yesterday a business group hosted a luncheon where leaders of USD 259, the Wichita public school district, made short presentations and took questions from the audience. Overall, the event produced little in the way of new information for those who follow school district affairs even casually. Events like this, however, provide a useful measure of…
-
Lack of data, oversight raises questions on Kansas school spending
In the following report, investigative reporter Paul Soutar of the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy takes a look at school spending in Kansas. Particularly troubling is the decision to abandon an audit already in progress. A recent decision by the 2010 Commission to not complete an efficiency audit of K-12 schools in Kansas may…
-
Questions for Wichita school district
At a luncheon event today, leaders of USD 259, the Wichita public school district, made short presentations and took questions from the audience. I didn’t get a chance to ask a question, but here are the questions I prepared.
-
Wichita school district’s cost-shifting burdens federal coffers
When USD 259, the Wichita public school district, recently sold some bonds, they took advantage of a new program called Build America Bonds. This program was passed as part of the federal stimulus program earlier this year. The benefit to the Wichita school district is that the federal government will pay 35% of the interest…
-
Wichita school bond sale claims mislead
In a news release, USD 259, the Wichita public school district, is claiming a huge victory in the first sale of bonds authorized by last year’s election. But if you place the facts in context, with proper background, it turns out the conditions of the sale are quite different from what USD 259 claims.
-
Challenges for Wichita’s new school superintendent
Recently John Allison, new superintendent for USD 259, the Wichita public school district, was interviewed by the Wichita Eagle. The article reporting on the interview is at Great time to be superintendent.
-
Wichita Eagle’s school cheerleading isn’t helpful
Now that Mark McCormick is no longer with the Wichita Eagle, I think we can say that Rhonda Holman has taken over the role of chief cheerleader for USD 259, the Wichita public school district. Not that she needed much of a push in that direction. But claims made in a recent opinion piece of…
-
Kansas needs independent charter schools
Right now, only school districts can sponsor charter schools, and even then, only schools physically located within their boundaries. Some may be willing to give the schools the autonomy they need to be charter schools. Others, though, aren’t. So let’s give KU, K-State, education service centers, and other organizations the right to sponsor charter schools.…