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Remarks to Wichita City Council, April 1, 2008
Read more: Remarks to Wichita City Council, April 1, 2008By asking for the TIF financing, developers are sending us a signal that without the special tax favor, their project would not be economically feasible. They evidently have judged that it would not be profitable. They must feel that they will not be able to sell or rent at prices that will cover their costs…
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Wichita school bond issue: “But I didn’t have kids 20 years ago”
Read more: Wichita school bond issue: “But I didn’t have kids 20 years ago”“I agree, but I didn’t have kids 20 years ago.” A statement like this, uttered by a member of Citizens Alliance For Responsible Education, a group that supports a bond issue for USD 259, the Wichita public school district, illustrates the fact that the proposed bond issue is, plain and simple, a measure that benefits…
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Open records in Kansas follow-up
Read more: Open records in Kansas follow-upI have been recruited to participate in the Sunshine Blogger Project, an effort to gauge the compliance of the nations’ governors with open records laws as they exist in each state. I wrote about my experience with the office of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius in this article: Open Records in Kansas. The letter I received…
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Private salary supplements to public officials is a problem
Read more: Private salary supplements to public officials is a problemUSD 259, the Wichita public school district, outgoing superintendent Winston Brooks has been receiving a supplemental salary paid for by private interests. This salary supplement, supporters say, was necessary to prevent Mr. Brooks from leaving Wichita for somewhere else where he would be paid more. One way to look at this salary supplement is that…
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Low Wichita school utilization, not bond issue, is solution to overcrowding
Read more: Low Wichita school utilization, not bond issue, is solution to overcrowdingOne of the main reasons given for the necessity of a bond issue in 2008 for USD 259, the Wichita public school district, is overcrowding. Too many students; not enough classrooms. Utilization numbers supplied by USD 259, however, show that there is a possible solution that district officials haven’t considered, as well as another solution…
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Defending the American Dream Summit
Read more: Defending the American Dream SummitHere’s a message from John Todd about an exciting event to be held by Americans for Prosperity. If you’re in south-central Kansas the bus trip is much easier and less expensive than driving to Topeka. AFP is a great group to be involved with, and I encourage everyone to take advantage of this free bus…
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KanView: A New, Online Database of Revenues and Expenditures in Kansas
Read more: KanView: A New, Online Database of Revenues and Expenditures in KansasThe Kansas Meadowlark reports on the debut of Kanview, and wonders “Why did the Kansas press give this new information resource such little coverage?”
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Safe Rooms a Priority in Wichita School Bond Issue
Read more: Safe Rooms a Priority in Wichita School Bond IssueIt is a noble goal that USD 259 would seek to provide all Wichita schoolchildren with safe storm shelters. For this reason bond issue supporters already have, and will no doubt continue to, promoted the bond issue as necessary for the safety of our city’s children. But instead of congratulating USD 259 officials for their…
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Open records in Kansas
Read more: Open records in KansasRecently I was recruited to participate in the Sunshine Blogger Project. Its purpose is to “find out whether America’s governors properly archive the e-mail that comes into and goes out of their offices, and are able to provide copies of those e-mails when members of the public request them.”
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Wichita school bond issue: solve overcrowding this way
Read more: Wichita school bond issue: solve overcrowding this wayAccording to USD 259 (Wichita public school district) officials, one of the prime reasons a bond issue is needed in 2008 is that schools are overcrowded. New classrooms and new schools must be built, according to district officials, to solve this overcrowding problem. This is another way to reduce overcrowding, and it won’t require spending…