Kansas Supreme Court Archives - Page 6 of 12 Voice For Liberty

Jan

LOB property tax increase already in effect

From Kansas Policy Institute. LOB property tax increase already in effect By Dave Trabert About a year ago we asked the Kansas Department of Education to verify our calculation of the Local Option Budget (LOB) property tax increase that would result if Base State Aid Per Pupil (BSAPP) was increased from $3,838 per-pupil to $4,492 in accordance with a final Gannon ruling in favor of the plaintiffs/against Kansas taxpayers. KSDE verified our calculation but didn’t mention that the Legislature had already authorized districts to calculate LOB based on a hypothetical BSAPP of $4,433. Therefore, our reporting that increasing BSAPP to…

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Here’s why Kansans are misinformed about schools

You should always believe what you read in the newspapers, for that makes them more interesting. -- Rose Macauley In an editorial of some 600 words on the topic of Kansas schools, Kansas City Star editorial writers whip up support for higher school spending, but totally omit the facts readers need to know. In the end, it's Kansas schoolchildren who are harmed most by editorials like this. (Much rides on the future of Kansas public school funding) Talking about school spending is easy, although the Star, like most Kansas newspapers, doesn't tell its readers the full story on spending. Advocating…

Oct

By Bob Weeks

Shortchanging Kansas schoolchildren, indeed

This month the New York Times published an editorial that advocates for more spending on Kansas public schools. While getting some facts wrong, the piece also overlooks the ways that Kansas schoolchildren are truly being shortchanged. Here's evidence supplied by the Times (Shortchanging Kansas Schoolchildren, October 13, 2013): "State spending on education has fallen an estimated 16.5 percent since 2008, including $500 million in cuts under the Brownback administration, resulting in teacher layoffs and larger class sizes." (Governor Brownback has responded to the editorial; see Kansas Governor responds to the Times.) The Times editorial board doesn't say how it calculated…

Oct

By Bob Weeks

A learning opportunity for Wichita

Next month the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce brings a speaker to town who might be able to offer Wichita helpful advice. As reported in the Wichita Business Journal, "Jim Clifton, the chairman and CEO of Gallup Inc., says cities that create a culture of entrepreneurial development are the ones succeeding today." Clifton is the author of The Coming Jobs War. Here's material from the inside flap of this 2011 book: WHAT EVERYONE IN THE WORLD WANTS IS A GOOD JOB In a provocative book for business and government leaders, Gallup Chairman Jim Clifton describes how this undeniable fact will…

Sep

By Bob Weeks

Kansas school employment trends

Listening to Kansas school officials and some legislators, you'd think that Kansas schools had very few teachers left, and that students were struggling in huge classes. But statistics show that school employment has rebounded, both in terms of absolute numbers of teachers and certified employees, and also in the ratios of students to these employees. The following video explains. (Click here to view in high definition at YouTube.) The story is not the same in every district. But considering the entire state, two trends emerge. For the past two years, the number of teachers employed in Kansas public schools has…

Sep

By Bob Weeks

Brief filed in Kansas school finance case

Walt Chappell has filed a brief providing argument and evidence relevant to the current Kansas school finance case. Many expect that the Kansas Supreme Court will rule by the end of the year so that the legislature may act without the uncertainty of a court ruling still in the future. In a message accompanying his brief, Chappell explained his reasons for filing the brief. You may view the brief below after Chappell's message, or click here to view in full screen mode at Scribd. On Friday, September 6th, I filed the attached Amicus Brief with the Kansas Supreme Court in…

Sep

By Bob Weeks

Why are Kansas school standards so low?

At a time when Kansas was spending more on schools due to an order from the Kansas Supreme Court, the state lowered its already low standards for schools. This is the conclusion of the National Center for Education Statistics, based on the most recent version of Mapping State Proficiency Standards Onto the NAEP Scales. NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations, and is located within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences. The mapping project establishes a relationship between the tests each state…

Aug

By Bob Weeks

Kansas school standards have changed

At a time when Kansas was spending more on schools due to an order from the Kansas Supreme Court, the state lowered its standards for schools. This video uses the "Mapping State Proficiency Standards Onto the NAEP Scales" report from the National Center for Education Statistics to show what Kansas has done to its educational standards. View below, or click here to view on YouTube, which may work better in some cases. For background on this issue, see Kansas has lowered its school standards and More evidence of low Kansas school standards. Other relevant articles include Kansas needs truth about…

Jul

By Bob Weeks

For Kansas progressives, it’s all about school spending, not performance

Once again, Kansans are subjected to a rant by Kansas House of Representatives Democratic Leader Paul Davis. On Facebook, he continually complains about the lack of funding for Kansas schools, recently writing "What do you think is more important: tax cuts for millionaires or funding for your local school?" Here are some concepts I wish Davis would explain to his Facebook fans. This might be good practice as he considers a run for the Kansas governorship. First, Kansas schools have increased employment. Second, Kansas schools don’t spend all the money they’ve been given, and the pile of unspent cash continues…

Jul

By Bob Weeks

Kansas school employment trends are not what you’d expect

Listening to Kansas school officials and legislators, you'd think that Kansas schools had very few teachers left, and that students were struggling in huge classes. But statistics from the state show that school employment has rebounded, both in terms of absolute numbers of teachers and certified employees, and the ratios of pupils to these employees. The story is not the same in every district. But considering the entire state, two trends emerge. For the past two years, the number of teachers employed in Kansas public schools has risen. Correspondingly, the pupil-teacher ratio has fallen. The trend for certified employees is…