Articles by:

Dave Trabert

Enrollment decline + more staff = budget deficits
Dave Trabert
Take tax relief out of Governor Kelly’s hands with a constitutional amendment to limit the increase in assessed valuations
Dave Trabert
USD 416 audit report is further evidence the public school system ignores state laws
Dave Trabert
No, Virginia, collective bargaining isn’t related to better student outcomes
Dave Trabert
Gov. Kelly’s rationale for HB 2036 tax relief veto threat doesn’t hold water
Dave Trabert
Revenue-neutral property tax law is helping, but taxpayers need more legislative action
Dave Trabert
Gov. Kelly’s claim that a flat tax creates deficits is not true – and she knows it
Dave Trabert
Legislature should call Governor Kelly’s tax relief bluff
Dave Trabert
School spending sets new record $17,650 per student
Dave Trabert
K-12 operating cash reserves hit $1.25 billion
Dave Trabert
Democrats propose 11% property tax hike on farms, other businesses
Dave Trabert
Race-based and income-based achievement gaps widen in Kansas since 2015
Dave Trabert
KASB celebrates low achievement
Dave Trabert
Counties push false narratives in demand for LAVTR tax subsidy
Dave Trabert
New data: Kansas is #9 in spending, #42 ‘bang for the education buck’
Dave Trabert
KASB pushes modern-day Emperor’s New Clothes deception
Dave Trabert
School districts transferred $71 million too much to special education in 2022
Dave Trabert
How many administrators are needed to run a school district?
Dave Trabert
2022 valuation spikes led to big property tax increases in some counties
Dave Trabert
Flawed formula overfunded special education by at least $323 million the last five years
Dave Trabert
Niche.com rankings deceive parents on the quality of education
Dave Trabert
KS school districts allocate a record-low share of spending to instruction
Dave Trabert
KSDE: School spending to exceed $17,000 per student this year
Dave Trabert
More school districts disregard the building needs assessment law
Dave Trabert
Media revisits Brownback and Laffer derangement syndrome to oppose tax relief
Dave Trabert
Kansas is #3 in state aid, #38 in ‘bang for the education buck’
Dave Trabert
Five things to know about K-12 education in Kansas
Dave Trabert
Proficiency plummets to historic lows on 2022 NAEP in Kansas
Dave Trabert
Disappointing, but not surprising, low scores on the 2022 state assessment
Dave Trabert
Stagnation continues in the Kansas economy with tax & spend mentality
Dave Trabert
Miller / Amyx property tax plan busts the budget in its first full year
Dave Trabert
School districts (again) disregard building needs assessment law
Dave Trabert
Blue Valley school board isn’t allocating enough money for academic needs
Dave Trabert
Panasonic subsidy deal: Laura Kelly’s ‘shot of adrenaline’ moment?
Dave Trabert
Give kids a fighting chance with choice, transparency, and accountability
Dave Trabert
Kansas #11 in COL-adjusted spending per student for 2020
Dave Trabert
Inflation-adjusted school funding +52%, teacher pay down 9%
Dave Trabert
Special Education costs are 100% reimbursed, counting all the money
Dave Trabert
Schools claim special education is underfunded but have $200 million left over
Dave Trabert
Truth in Taxation transparency helps cut property tax in 21 counties
Dave Trabert
Lawrence district can’t blame legislators for budget deficit
Dave Trabert
Mega subsidy: budget deficits, no tax cuts for people
Dave Trabert
School budgets average $16,686 per pupil this year
Dave Trabert
With $1 billion in reserve, schools don’t need a $200 million gift
Dave Trabert
In Memoriam: Ethelmae Humphreys, Lioness for Liberty
Dave Trabert
Achievement gaps persist despite KSDE claims
Dave Trabert
KSDE deceives legislators about student achievement
Dave Trabert
3 things to know about Truth in Taxation
Dave Trabert
2021 school payroll: 941 employees in 31 districts paid over $100k
Dave Trabert
KSDE ‘success’ tour ignores districts’ academic failures
Dave Trabert
More than 100 local governments aren’t increasing property tax
Dave Trabert
Kansas lost $5.7 billion in private-sector GDP in 2020
Dave Trabert
Kansas lost 4,000 private jobs, added 8,500 gov’t. jobs in 2Q
Dave Trabert
Schools should educate, not indoctrinate with critical race theory
Dave Trabert
People ‘voting with their feet’ cost Kansas $2.9 billion
Dave Trabert
Kansas has some of the nation’s highest property tax rates
Dave Trabert
School officials use paltering to deceive parents on student achievement
Dave Trabert
2021 Green Book: Kansas is massively over-governed
Dave Trabert
Kansas is #38 in bang for the educational buck
Dave Trabert
Kansas lost private-sector jobs in April
Dave Trabert
School boards ignore income and racial educational discrimination
Dave Trabert
2021 Green Book: States that spend less, tax less…and grow more
Dave Trabert
Choice benefits kids in Florida, Indiana, and Arizona while Kansas resists
Dave Trabert
Subsidies give Kansas the highest effective tax rates on mature businesses
Dave Trabert
Kids benefit from choice in other states, while Kansas resists efforts to help students
Dave Trabert
Kelly admin consciously deceived legislators, taxpayers
Dave Trabert
PRO Act is another Biden middle class tax increase
Dave Trabert
Truth in Taxation is a model for legislative change
Dave Trabert
Five things to know about money-follow-the-child programs
Dave Trabert
Gov. Kelly signs property tax transparency bill
Dave Trabert
No, KSBOE, Kansas doesn’t ‘lead the world’ in education
Dave Trabert
COVID pandemic creates opportunities for tax relief
Dave Trabert
State treasurers deceive Congress on city, state bailouts
Dave Trabert
5 things you need to know about K-12 education
Dave Trabert
Educational opportunity opponents ignore students’ needs
Dave Trabert
Kansas kids need money-follow-the-child programs
Dave Trabert
Council on Tax Reform paves the way for Kelly’s next income tax hike
Dave Trabert
2021 Legislator Briefing Book also has good value for taxpayers
Dave Trabert
Cities, counties keep expanding the property tax honesty gap
Dave Trabert
School district hiring underscores need for money-follow-the-child programs
Dave Trabert
MoneyWise: Kansas 3rd worst state for taxing retirees
Dave Trabert
Barely half of $7 billion school funding is spent on Instruction
Dave Trabert
KSDE: per-pupil funding estimated at $16,216 this year
Dave Trabert
School cash reserves set new record at $2.3 billion
Dave Trabert
KC Star pushes faux ‘science’ to defend Democratic governor
Dave Trabert
KSDE awards $30 million to KU to perpetuate low achievement
Dave Trabert
Kelly’s K-12 budget plan favors government over taxpayers
Dave Trabert
Educators top KPERS ‘millionaires’ list, system badly underfunded
Dave Trabert
Shawnee Mission superintendent wants a property tax increase
Dave Trabert
Use the special session to support taxpayers
Dave Trabert
Governor Kelly’s vetoes showed her disdain for taxpayers
Dave Trabert
Kansas #6 in state aid but #36 in achievement productivity
Dave Trabert
2019 state payroll: $2.17 billion, up 5%
Dave Trabert
Will Kansas legislators show up for work on Thursday?
Dave Trabert
School budgets: savings opportunities abound
Dave Trabert
Education shouldn’t be exempt from COVID budget cuts
Dave Trabert
It’s time to reopen Kansas and let everyone go back to work
Dave Trabert
State, local government need spending cuts, not federal bailouts
Dave Trabert
Moody’s: Kansas, Missouri ill-prepared for COVID revenue declines
Dave Trabert
COVID-19: prepare for large state budget deficits
Dave Trabert
COVID-19: local government should cut property taxes
Dave Trabert
Coronavirus reactions must be balanced, thoughtful
Dave Trabert
Local government hiked property tax 3X inflation in 2019
Dave Trabert
University spending largely to blame for tuition hikes
Dave Trabert
Many city and county officials don’t trust taxpayers
Dave Trabert
5 things you need to know about property taxes in Kansas
Dave Trabert
Building-level spending disproves ‘spending drives achievement’ theory
Dave Trabert
School debt sets new records in Kansas
Dave Trabert
K-12 Instruction spending allocation hits new low
Dave Trabert
2019 school payroll: 679 employees in 29 districts paid over $100,000
Dave Trabert
With no accountability, spending increases won’t help students
Dave Trabert
KSDE: school funding will be $15,105 per pupil this year
Dave Trabert
Local government property tax data shows opportunity for savings
Dave Trabert
Local gov’t. has biggest share of $3 billion property tax hike
Dave Trabert
KASB misleads again in pursuit of more school funding
Dave Trabert
Over 2,500 KPERS ‘millionaires’ and $1.7 billion in pension payments published
Dave Trabert
$2 billion Kansas payroll posted to KansasOpenGov.org
Dave Trabert
School funding decision doesn’t end litigation
Dave Trabert
$1.2 billion city and county payrolls online
Dave Trabert
KS has 15th highest state aid per-student, moving toward top ten
Dave Trabert
State school funding per-pupil ranked #16 in U.S.
Dave Trabert
Busting the Kansas PTA MythBusters
Dave Trabert
New county data underscores struggling Kansas economy
Dave Trabert
KPI acquires The Sentinel
Dave Trabert
Per-Pupil funding tops $14,000 in Kansas
Dave Trabert
Schools misinterpret ‘efficiency’ in WestEd study
Dave Trabert
KC Star made false accusations about school funding
Dave Trabert
Kansas Freedom Index provides legislative transparency
Dave Trabert
Considering a constitutional amendment on school funding
Dave Trabert
Barely half of 2018 school spending went to instruction
Dave Trabert
Reverse long-term economic stagnation
Dave Trabert
Make school spending more efficient and effective
Dave Trabert
Improving Low Student Achievement Levels
Dave Trabert
School funding sets new record at $13,620 per-pupil
Dave Trabert
School cash reserves set new record at $952 million
Dave Trabert
Politicians are ignoring a $3.7 billion revenue shortfall
Dave Trabert
KPI publishes 2018 Voter Issue Guide
Dave Trabert
2018 Voter Issue Guide
Dave Trabert
Universities use tuition to pad bank balances
Dave Trabert
Kansas is Top Ten in the wrong education categories
Dave Trabert
Payroll jumps in Shawnee Mission but not for teachers
Dave Trabert
USD 500 Kansas City shortchanges teachers (again)
Dave Trabert
Educators mislead Civil Rights Commission
Dave Trabert
Kansas school boards skimp on teacher pay
Dave Trabert
$3.7 billion tax increase set up by courts and schools
Dave Trabert
Olathe school administrators’ big pay hike won’t help students
Dave Trabert
Gannon VI demand for school funding is off base
Dave Trabert
Courts, many elected officials ignore purpose of school funding
Dave Trabert
Lifetime Freedom Index scores set new lows
Dave Trabert
Kansas Supreme Court teetering on tyranny
Dave Trabert
KPERS pension distribution creates 327 new ‘millionaires’
Dave Trabert
KS House socks citizens with another tax increase
Dave Trabert
Kansas legislators might raise taxes again
Dave Trabert
Online sales tax a ruse to grow government
Dave Trabert
Kansas #26 in “Rich States, Poor States”
Dave Trabert
2018 Green Book: Smaller government, more growth
Dave Trabert
$2 billion 2017 Kansas payroll online
Dave Trabert
Student-focused Florida trounces $-focused Kansas
Dave Trabert
2017 NAEP – small gain but long way to go
Dave Trabert
School funding plan requires big tax hike
Dave Trabert
Kansas school funding study cuts rural schools
Dave Trabert
What’s in the House school funding plan?
Dave Trabert
School funding is adequate for 92% graduation rate
Dave Trabert
School lobby pushes money correlation myth
Dave Trabert
KNEA deceives teachers on school efficiency
Dave Trabert
WestEd cost study has media pushing huge tax hikes
Dave Trabert
City and county payrolls jumped in 2017
Dave Trabert
County property tax nearly triples rate of inflation and population
Dave Trabert
KASB School Funding Statement Misses Important Perspective
Dave Trabert
School District Debt Exceeds $6 Billion
Dave Trabert
Medicaid Expansion Crushes State Budgets
Dave Trabert
Court: Legislature Should Resist Separation of Powers Violation
Dave Trabert
2018 State of the State Fails Students
Dave Trabert
Will $17K Per-Pupil Make Achievement Acceptable?
Dave Trabert
Student Achievement Key to Future of Kansas, Not Money
Dave Trabert
District Staffing Decisions Reduce Teacher Pay by $13,700
Dave Trabert
Kansans Want Schools Held Accountable
Dave Trabert
School Cash Reserves Nearly Triple State Budget Requirement
Dave Trabert
Court’s Gannon Ruling Won’t Help Kids
Dave Trabert
Kansas School Spending Hits $13,647 Per Pupil For 2018
Dave Trabert
Kansas School Funding Set New Records in 2017
Dave Trabert
School Districts Plan Large Spending Increases
Dave Trabert
A Student-Focused Response to the Kansas Supreme Court
Dave Trabert
School District Cash Reserves at Record Highs
Dave Trabert
College and Career Readiness Remains Persistently Low
Dave Trabert
School Funding Ruling May Cause Devastating Tax Hikes
Dave Trabert
Kansas Job Growth Rank Improves Post-Tax-Relief
Dave Trabert
School Lawsuits: Over $7 Million Diverted from Classrooms to Lawyers
Dave Trabert
Tax Cuts and the Kansas Economy
Dave Trabert
Pretty Prairie Residents Reject Property Tax Hike
Dave Trabert
Blue Valley School District Distorts Spending Facts
Dave Trabert
Are you ready for another tax increase?
Dave Trabert
School administrators in Kansas got large pay hikes last year
Dave Trabert
Pay Hikes at Johnson County Community College
Dave Trabert
Kansas City School District Boosts Pay but Not for Teachers
Dave Trabert
KCKCC Pay Jumps 11 Percent
Dave Trabert
Good News in Kansas City Star
Dave Trabert
Schools Defend Massive Income Tax Hike
Dave Trabert
Kansas Legislature Lifetime Freedom Index Released
Dave Trabert
Legislators Don’t Like Being Called Out for State Spending Hike
Dave Trabert
Kansas Schools Petulantly Demand $972 Million More
Dave Trabert
Kansas Ranked 6th for State School Funding
Dave Trabert
School Cash Reserves Hit $203 Billion
Dave Trabert
Media Ignores Facts, Excuses University Tuition Hikes
Dave Trabert
Kansas Legislature Broke a Lot of Promises
Dave Trabert
$1.6 Billion Pension Payouts; Over 2,000 KPERS ‘Millionaires’
Dave Trabert
New School Funding Formula is Bad for Students and Citizens
Dave Trabert
Media, Left Attempt to Re-write History of Kansas Tax Reform
Dave Trabert
Legislature Disregards Citizens with $3 Billion Kansas Income Tax Hike
Dave Trabert
$11 Billion School Debt Exceeds State Debt
Dave Trabert
79 Districts Lost Students, Added Staff
Dave Trabert
Dedicating Income Tax to Schools is Just Pandering; There’s Also a Downside
Dave Trabert
School Debt Sets New Record at $5.56 Billion
Dave Trabert
Freedom Index: Political Division is Citizens vs. Government, Not Party Lines
Dave Trabert
Kansas Legislature to Citizens – let them eat cake
Dave Trabert
Math error could cost taxpayers $83 million per year
Dave Trabert
IRS data refutes Kansas tax evasion theories
Dave Trabert
Kansas Budget can be balanced without a tax increase
Dave Trabert
A tax on your income tax?
Dave Trabert
Kansas Budget Deficit overstated by $200 million
Dave Trabert
Local Government to Kansans – Suck it up and Pay up
Dave Trabert
City Property Tax Hikes
Dave Trabert
Kansas Freedom Index – Legislature Opposes Economic Freedom, Personal Liberty
Dave Trabert
Pass-Through Exemption Helped Add 18,000 jobs in 2015
Dave Trabert
Local Gov’t. Threatens Citizens over Property Tax Lid
Dave Trabert
PEAK subsidy costs Kansas $48.5 million annually
Dave Trabert
States that Spend Less, Tax Less…and Grow More
Dave Trabert
Fake news in Kansas promotes political agenda
Dave Trabert
2016 State Payroll 3% Above 2013 Level
Dave Trabert
City and County Payroll Provides Property Tax Insight
Dave Trabert
Property Tax Hikes Continue
Dave Trabert
Kansas Private Sector Jobs Grew in 2016
Dave Trabert
False claims on Kansas school funding
Dave Trabert
New school funding formula required by Court
Dave Trabert
Kansas budget can be balanced without tax hikes
Dave Trabert
Efficient, Effective Spending Keeps Taxes Low
Dave Trabert
Private Schools Better for Low Income Students
Dave Trabert
Gov. Brownback Promises Veto of $2.4 Billion Income Tax Increase
Dave Trabert
Kansas House passes $2.4 billion income tax increase
Dave Trabert
New school funding formula would cost $965 million
Dave Trabert
New business filings sets another record in Kansas
Dave Trabert
Kansans want school funding formula to hold districts accountable
Dave Trabert
Kansas income tax hike rejected by citizens
Dave Trabert
Most Kansas legislators won’t declare their principles
Dave Trabert
Kansas job rank improves after tax reform
Dave Trabert
Kansas tax proposal endorses government favoritism
Dave Trabert
Brownback’s budget proposal pretty good overall
Dave Trabert
State of the State puts students, citizens first
Dave Trabert
School funding formula must start from scratch
Dave Trabert
KC Star scores media bias trifecta
Dave Trabert
Coverage of proposed $820 million tax hike loaded with media bias
Dave Trabert
State think tanks lead the fight for freedom
Dave Trabert
$820 million tax hike not necessary
Dave Trabert
Legislative leadership moving Left in Kansas
Dave Trabert
Media’s hypocritical tizzy over fake news
Dave Trabert
Governing isn’t about granting wishes
Dave Trabert
Government’s entitlement mentality – Part 1
Dave Trabert
KC Biz Journal misleads on Johnson County property tax
Dave Trabert
Oil, farming suppress sales tax collections
Dave Trabert
Move Revenue Estimates from April to May
Dave Trabert
Pass-through entities drive job growth in Kansas
Dave Trabert
KMBC-TV perpetuates false school funding claim
Dave Trabert
$1.45 Billion tax hike or broken promises coming in January
Dave Trabert
Kansas individual income tax receipts +7% this year
Dave Trabert
KASB, school lawyers ignore reality in naked money grab
Dave Trabert
Media and highway contractors mislead again
Dave Trabert
Kansas School Pay Raises: Some Big, Some small
Dave Trabert
19 U.S. Senators promoting tyranny
Dave Trabert
Olathe’s real spending increase is higher than explained
Dave Trabert
Olathe and Johnson County misrepresent pending property tax increases
Dave Trabert
Property tax hikes in the works
Dave Trabert
Sometimes, media is wrong without knowing it
Dave Trabert
Political indoctrination at taxpayer-funded Johnson County Community College
Dave Trabert
Public radio distorts school funding proposal, covers for Senator’s false claim
Dave Trabert
Senator Kelly misleads on school property taxes
Dave Trabert
Personal Income Ranking Distorted by Media
Dave Trabert
Yellow journalism defines KC Star’s Steve Rose
Dave Trabert
Local control is about citizens, not government
Dave Trabert
Former Kansas governors’ definition of ‘fiscal health’ favors government over taxpayers
Dave Trabert
Amend the Constitution to protect students
Dave Trabert
School districts load up on debt
Dave Trabert
Rethinking Education Tomorrow
Dave Trabert
USD 259 Wichita misleads on administration spending
Dave Trabert
Don’t let the courts close schools
Dave Trabert
Supreme Court contradicts itself, defies constitution in equity ruling
Dave Trabert
$2 billion state payroll published on KansasOpenGov
Dave Trabert
Duane Goossen: Do as I say, not as I did
Dave Trabert
University funding actually increasing; tuition hikes not necessary
Dave Trabert
State school board member should practice what he preaches
Dave Trabert
Option 4: Soak the Poor
Dave Trabert
‘Burn it down’ strategy to blame for credit downgrades and budget issues
Dave Trabert
Tax revenue increasing, but not enough to keep up with record spending
Dave Trabert
Kansas private sector employment more competitive since 2012
Dave Trabert
Kansas economy outperformed the region through 3rd Quarter 2015
Dave Trabert
KNEA proposes $1.88 billion school funding reduction
Dave Trabert
Kansas Legislature introduces transformative new school funding system
Dave Trabert
Lawrence school board member makes many false claims in angry rant
Dave Trabert
Kansans want efficiency, no new taxes for schools
Dave Trabert
Kansas gains new high-income residents
Dave Trabert
2015 Property Taxes – The Beat Goes On
Dave Trabert
Docking survey produces misleading sentiment on school funding
Dave Trabert
Student achievement crisis in Kansas
Dave Trabert
Houston, we have a spending problem
Dave Trabert
Scare tactics and false choices: just another Tuesday at KCEG
Dave Trabert
Supreme Court ruling on equity creates challenges and opportunity
Dave Trabert
HB 2023 Eliminating Income Tax Exemption on Pass-Through Income
Dave Trabert
New School Funding Formula is an Opportunity for Improvement
Dave Trabert
Kansas Freedom Index now includes lifetime rankings
Dave Trabert
No correlation between spending and achievement
Dave Trabert
School funding increased by $104 million but districts cut $14 million from Instruction
Dave Trabert
Kansas General Fund spending sets new records
Dave Trabert
Extraordinary Needs funding is in addition to block grants
Dave Trabert
Extraordinary needs…or wants?
Dave Trabert
Even by KASB standards, school operating spending is $3.9 billion ahead of inflation
Dave Trabert
Johnson County pushes false choices to justify another property tax increase
Dave Trabert
KPERS payouts for 2014 include 248 new pension ‘millionaires’
Dave Trabert
May jobs report – a lesson in ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’
Dave Trabert
2015 Legislative Wrap-up
Dave Trabert
2015 Kansas Budget Wrap-up
Dave Trabert
Property tax abuse continues in Kansas counties
Dave Trabert
USD 500 Kansas City misleads on school funding and budget claims
Dave Trabert
$1.5 billion property tax savings might be headed your way
Dave Trabert
KCEG misleads on job growth – again
Dave Trabert
KSDE confirms that state aid to schools is increasing this year
Dave Trabert
If fairness is really the issue, tax government pensions
Dave Trabert
Kansas Budget Documentary Short on Facts
Dave Trabert
Political perspective masquerades as ‘documentary’
Dave Trabert
State aid to Johnson and Wyandotte County schools increases under block grants
Dave Trabert
KC Kansas metro beats KC Missouri metro in 2014 private sector job growth
Dave Trabert
Only in government – a 14% increase is denounced as a ‘cut’
Dave Trabert
Legislature Considers Changes to School Funding Formula
Dave Trabert
School funding still sets new record with block grant proposal
Dave Trabert
Kansas K-12 Carryover Reserves
Dave Trabert
Inaugural Podcast with Dave Trabert
Dave Trabert
Kansas school funding decision ignores facts in arriving at a political decision
Dave Trabert
Many school districts ignore state transparency law
Dave Trabert
Debunking distorted claims about tax reform and the Kansas budget
Dave Trabert
Supreme Court ruling on school finance – some very good news and a few questions
Dave Trabert
KASB misleads on personal income
Dave Trabert
Kansas School Finance Ruling: a Circus of the Absurd
Dave Trabert