The 2017 state assessment results released this week by the Kansas Department of Education shows college and career readiness remains persistently low across Kansas. The state average for 10th grade low income students is just 11 percent and a slight decline from 11.2 percent last year; 34.1 percent of those who aren’t low income are on track to be college … Read More
PBS Ruckus: KPI President Dave Trabert Proposes Student-focused Response to Supreme Court Ruling on School Funding.
Kansas City public television station KCPT-TV interviews KPI President Dave Trabert about the recent Supreme Court ruling on school funding…including the potential impact on funding for other services and your taxes if the Legislature complies and KPI’s recommended legislative response to the court. Watch below . . .
Audio: Dave Trabert on Kansas Supreme Court Gannon Ruling
Listen to audio from Dave Trabert’s radio interview with KCMO 103.7 Host, Greg Knapp, on October 09, 2017 concerning the most recent Kansas Supreme Court decision in the Gannon v. State of Kansas school finance lawsuit.
Latest Stanford study shows NYC charter students outperform traditional public school students – and at a lower cost
The Stanford University-based Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) just published the results of a comprehensive study comparing New York City charter school students to traditional public school (TPS) students in the Big Apple. The researchers found “an average New York City charter student demonstrates growth equivalent to completing 23 additional days of learning in reading and 63 additional … Read More
School Funding Ruling May Cause Devastating Tax Hikes
The Kansas Supreme Court’s recent Gannon school funding ruling, if endorsed by legislators, would cause devastating tax hikes on top of record-setting tax increases just passed. The Court cited vast differences between the new money appropriated by the Legislature ($293 million more in FY 2019) and the amount demanded by school districts (at least $1.7 billion) and the State Board … Read More
Chameleon court decides it really is all about the Benjamins (for now)
The latest (and surely not final) Supreme Court ruling in Gannon v. State, known as Gannon V, is yet another pivot from their previous position outlined in this Chameleon Court’s first Gannon decision. In Gannon I in 2014, the Court posited that money was not the determining factor in determining whether the “suitable provision” clause of Article 6 of the … Read More
School Lawsuits: Over $7 Million Diverted from Classrooms to Lawyers
The Gannon and Montoy school lawsuits have resulted in school districts diverting $7.3 million that could have been spent on Instruction to their lawyers suing between the 2005 and 2017 school years. The data is provided by one of the districts’ law firms – Somers, Robb and Robb. The downloadable listing below indicates over $300,000 more is already committed for … Read More
New education funding targeted toward teacher compensation, not student outcomes
There was much spirited and often heated discussion regarding the crafting of the new education finance law among the various legislative committee hearings during the 2017 session. Legislators debated a variety of approaches that addressed the amount of additional money that would go to schools, with a keen eye toward what they felt would satisfy the Supreme Court pursuant to … Read More
Blue Valley School District Distorts Spending Facts
A KSBH-TV story about the Blue Valley school district spending $130,000 in legal fees to avoid paying $23,000 for a blind student’s braille books says “Blue Valley School District’s total operating budget for the current school year is about $200 million.” The reporter, Jessica McMaster, linked to her source on the Blue Valley web site and understandably relied on the … Read More
Disdain for Freedom Shown As Media Attacks Think Tank
On a variety of fronts it seems like American society is showing some significant foundational cracks, if not actively crumbling around us. Sadly, this is not a unique lament. One such event was a recent Washington Post piece lashing out at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. This piece demonstrated a remarkable disdain for freedom and the rights of those with views … Read More