KNEA Archives - Page 4 of 11 Voice For Liberty

Jun

Kansas teachers reject union representation in one district

Rejection of Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) by teachers in a small Kansas school district could start a trend. From Heritage Foundation's The Foundry. By James Sherk and Michael Cirrotti. Teachers in Deerfield, Kansas, just did something unusual -- they voted to decertify their union. The Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) no longer represents them. Teachers disliking their union representation do not make news, but teachers actually leaving their union do: The law makes it very difficult for teachers to remove unwanted unions. Unlike most public officials, unions do not stand for re-election, so their members cannot regularly hold them…

Mar

By Bob Weeks

Teachers union members to be proud of

Critics of public schools usually explain that they're not faulting individual teachers. Instead, they target their criticism at the teachers union, bureaucratic school administration, or "the system" in general. So when we observe the actions of teachers, we're correct to wonder if they're acting as citizens, or as teachers representing their school districts, or as union members, or in some other role. This issue is important when we take notice of the actions of teachers at a recent meeting of the South-Central Kansas Legislative Delegation in Wichita. Here's a message tweeted during that meeting from Judy Loganbill, a Wichita school…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

The real war on Kansas workers

"What workers decide to do with their paychecks is none of the Government's business." Isn't that a wonderful statement? It succinctly states the libertarian principle of self-ownership, which is that each person owns themselves and the fruits of their labor. Their paychecks, in this case. The author says that government has no business deciding how workers spend their pay, which I would interpret as meaning that government has no business levying taxes on income. But I don't think that's what the author of this sentence meant. Instead, the author of this statement wants more of Kansas workers' paychecks diverted to…

Jan

By Bob Weeks

It’s not the teachers, it’s the union

Can there be a point where demagoguery has been spread so deep and thick that no one believes it? Kansas National Education Association (KNEA), our state's teachers union, advises teachers "Be prepared for a long hard ride -- they are indeed out to get you." The union also wrote: "But beyond this, you need to ask your legislator if he or she has any respect for teachers at all. The war now being waged against public school teachers by the House is offensive and disrespectful. Within weeks of witnessing teachers in Newtown, Connecticut die for their students and a teacher…

Jan

By Bob Weeks

Kansas teachers union: No competition for us

Kansas National Education Association (KNEA), our state's teachers union, is an effective force that denies Kansas parents the choice as to where to send their children to school. The union also works hard to deny teachers choice in representation. In Bullying Teachers: How Teachers Unions Secretly Push Teachers and Competitors Around, Joy Pullmann states the problem: "In routine tracking of education-related legislation, The Heartland Institute’s School Reform News has uncovered evidence that teachers unions across the country routinely inhibit teachers from joining or speaking out about competing, nonunion teachers associations." Pullmann explains legislation from 2011 when Garry Sigle, who is…

Jan

By Bob Weeks

Public employee unions should be a non-partisan issue

Writing in Hoover Institution Policy Review, John O. McGinnis and Max Schanzenbach state what few seem to recognize: Everyone would be better off without public employee unions: For conservatives, taking on public employee unions provides a way to eliminate inefficient spending and create a polity of low taxes and lean government. For liberals, it provides a way to redirect spending to effective public goods, like better educational outputs, that public employee unions frustrate. The authors explain how teachers unions, in particular, are harmful to taxpayers and -- most importantly -- children in public schools: Public employee unions impose even more…

Jan

By Bob Weeks

Kansas teachers union rallies members

Under the email subject heading "Special edition! Action needed!" Kansas National Education Association (KNEA), our state's teachers union, rallies its members to take action against legislation under consideration by the Kansas Legislature. Kansans ought to be aware of the faulty arguments the union makes. The legislation is HB 2023. The fiscal note for the bill summarizes it as follows: "HB 2023 relates to professional employees’ organizations (PEOs). The bill makes it unlawful for any PEO to use any dues, fees, assessments or any period payment deducted from a member’s paycheck for the purpose of engaging in political activities. If a…

Jan

By Bob Weeks

Kansas public employee unions overreact

Response to a bill being considered in the Kansas Legislature has triggered strong reaction from public employee unions. Kansas taxpayers should take notice of this extraordinary hyperbole, and hope legislators can enact this legislation for the good of Kansas. Paycheck Deception Returns to Kansas: Republican Legislators Seek to Limit Fundamental Constitutional Rights workingkansans.com/2013/01/payche… #ksleg #1u— Working Kansans (@workingkansans) January 22, 2013 The legislation is HB 2023. The fiscal note for the bill summarizes it as follows: "HB 2023 relates to professional employees’ organizations (PEOs). The bill makes it unlawful for any PEO to use any dues, fees, assessments or any…

Jan

By Bob Weeks

Kansas school efficiency task force report

In an effort to spur greater efficiency in Kansas public schools, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback created a school efficiency task force. The task force has released its report, which may be viewed here. While some of the recommendations are very useful and should be implemented, some are minor in nature, and some -- especially the ones that would reduce the power of the teachers union -- will be very difficult to implement. There is also a list of mostly generic "best practices," such as "Look for savings on utilities." The task force also solicited anonymous suggestions from the public, and…

Jan

By Bob Weeks

Winners and losers in Kansas school finance lawsuit

Who are the winners and losers now that the decision in Gannon vs. Kansas -- better known as the Kansas school finance lawsuit -- has been reached? The decision reached by the court is that Kansas schools are unconstitutionally underfunded. While it is most commonly reported that the decision requires Kansas to spend an additional $440 million per year on schools, the actual amount of increased spending will be $594 million per year. This is because of the mechanism of the local option budget, according to Kansas Policy Institute. The decision is being appealed to the Kansas Supreme Court. The…