KASB

Kansas school funding growing faster than inflation
09
Aug
By Guest Author

Kansas school funding growing faster than inflation

Kansas school funding has been growing much faster inflation and enrollment, but for some, it will never be enough, and they will continue to use taxpayer money to press their monetary demands, writes Dave Trabert of Kansas Policy Institute. Even by KASB standards, school operating spending is $3.9 billion ahead of inflation By Dave Trabert A recent blog post by the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB) Associate Executive Director Mark Tallman says "Total school district funding is, in fact, at an all-time high, expected to top $6.1 billion this year" but "... the part of school funding available for…
Read More
For Kansas schools, a share of your income is the standard
24
Jan
By Bob Weeks

For Kansas schools, a share of your income is the standard

If Kansas personal income rises but the school spending establishment doesn't get its cut, something is wrong, they say. A publication by KASB is titled "Despite increases, share of Kansans' incomes spent on public schools is at a 30-year low." In the document, KASB, the Kansas Association of School Boards, states: "According to new reports released by state agencies, total funding for Kansas school districts will exceed $6 billion for the first time this year. However, when compared to the total income of all Kansans, school spending will be at the lowest level in at least 30 years." This is…
Read More
12
Jan
By Bob Weeks

School boards in Kansas

Mark Tallman, associate executive director for advocacy at Kansas Association of School Boards addressed members and guests of the Wichita Pachyderm Club on January 9, 2015. The slides from his presentation are below. [gview file="http://wichitaliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/School-Boards-in-Kansas-Mark-Tallman-2015-01-09.pdf"]
Read More
28
Jul
By Bob Weeks

For McGinn, a liberal voting record is a tradition

Based on votes made in the Kansas Senate, the advertising claims of Sedgwick County Commission candidate Carolyn McGinn don't match her record. In a radio advertisement, Carolyn McGinn says she is conservative. In a mailer, she touts her "fiscal conservative leadership" in the Kansas Senate. But voting records don't match these claims. Several voting scorecards in recent years show Senator McGinn ranking low in terms of voting for economic freedom issues. These issues generally concern taxation, wasteful spending, and unnecessary regulation. In recent years, a freedom index has been produced by Kansas Policy Institute. In 2012 the Kansas Economic Freedom…
Read More
Kansas news media should report, not spin
25
Apr
By Guest Author

Kansas news media should report, not spin

A Hutchinson News editorial contained an uninformed opinion of which special interest groups are working for the best interests of Kansans. Following, Dave Trabert of Kansas Policy Institute explains that influence may be shifting from media, unions, the education establishment, cities, counties, and school boards to those with different views -- those of limited government and economic freedom that empower citizens, not an expansive government and its beneficiaries. The editorial referred to is Goodbye Democracy, Hello Wealthocracy. Media spin a threat By Dave Trabert Kansans are bombarded with claims that range from innocently incomplete to quite deliberately false. Increasingly, the…
Read More
06
Jan
By Bob Weeks

Kansas education topic on ‘This Week in Kansas’

Kansas education issues were a topic on a recent segment of KAKE TV "This Week in Kansas." Opening the show, Representative Jim Ward made a small but potentially consequential mistake when he said the "legislature has violated their constitutional duty to provide for an adequate or sufficient education." The Kansas Constitution actually says this in Article 6, Section 6(b): "The legislature shall make suitable provision for finance of the educational interests of the state." It's too bad that the Kansas Constitution doesn't mandate that the state provide an "adequate or sufficient" education, as that would provide the basis for a…
Read More
21
Nov
By Guest Author

Kansas Association of School Boards: Putting institutions and money before individual students

From Kansas Policy Institute. Kansas Association of School Boards: Putting institutions and money before individual students By Dave Trabert There is no question that many students receive a fine public education and go on to success in college or career, but there is also no question that thousands of students are left behind every year. Continuing to pour money into the current broken system -- whether ordered to so by courts or by choice -- will not close the large achievement gaps that exist for students of color and those from low-income families. Yet institutional demands for more money continue to…
Read More
12
Sep
By Bob Weeks

Let’s just ignore this Kansas school spending

The reaction to a survey regarding Kansas school spending is useful for two reasons: It lets us gauge the level of knowledge of the public, and it also tells us the extent to which school spending advocates will go to justify and excuse spending. The latest example comes from Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB). It's in response to a survey commissioned by Kansas Policy Institute which asked the public a series of questions on schools and spending. (See Citizens generally misinformed on Kansas school spending.) A key finding is that most people think that schools spend much less than…
Read More
03
Mar
By Bob Weeks

Kansas school spending excused

Kansas public school teachers and the education bureaucracy want taxpayers to trust them as a reliable source for facts about Kansas schools. But the record doesn't inspire trust. At a recent meeting of the South-Central Kansas Legislative Delegation with citizens, teachers jeered when a legislator cited the spending numbers for USD 259, the Wichita public school district. A comment left to a KAKE TV news story claims that spending numbers presented by the legislator are "misrepresented," because he included every single dollar. In fact, the numbers presented were correct, as explained in In Kansas, don’t mention the level of school…
Read More