The 25 highest paid employees at Johnson County Community College each took home well in excess of $100,000 in the 2017 school year and some of them received double-digit pay increases. Data provided through an Open Records request and posted to KansasOpenGov.org shows President & CEO Joseph Sopcich was paid just shy of $325,000. Two welding trainers made the top … Read More
Kansas City School District Boosts Pay but Not for Teachers
The Kansas City school district, one of several Kansas districts using taxpayer money to sue for more funding, managed to provide some pretty hefty pay increases for top management last year. Total pay for the Kansas City school district increased by 3.8 percent to $168.8 million but teachers saw very little increase. Collectively, those identified by the district as teachers … Read More
Good News in Kansas City Star
Yes, you read that headline correctly. The Kansas City Star published an editorial last week calling for the ‘pause’ button to be pressed on the battle over school funding. They said, “…it may be time for the state and the judges to pause for a year or two to see if the $488 million infusion, coupled with a new formula … Read More
Defending the indefensible – Supreme Court holds oral arguments on new education funding bill
At the heart of the latest school finance proceedings earlier this week is that the justices will decide whether SB 19, the new school finance scheme, passes constitutional muster regarding adequacy of education funding. The purpose of the nearly three-hour hearing, which can be viewed here – I watched it all so you would only have to if you have … Read More
Schools Defend Massive Income Tax Hike
As Kansans collect smaller paychecks this month because of the massive income tax hike passed by the Legislature, school districts’ lobbying arm is defending it as an ‘investment.’ The Kansas Association of School Boards recently said the tax increase “…has been defended by many as necessary to stabilize the budget and comply with a Supreme Court decision on school funding.” … Read More
Kansas Schools Petulantly Demand $972 Million More
Like students attempting to explain away a bad grade, school districts’ taxpayer-funded lawyers bombarded the State Supreme Court with a litany of excuses and rationalizations to justify their demand for another $972 million over the next two years. Their June 30 brief to the Court says the Legislature’s increase of $195 million in the coming school year should be pushed … Read More
Kansas Ranked 6th for State School Funding
New data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows Kansas had the 6th highest share of school funding provided by state government in 2015. State school funding comprised 66 percent of total funding in Kansas, while the national average for state school funding was 47 percent. The national average for local taxpayer support was 45 percent but Kansas local taxpayers only … Read More
The new school funding formula (SB 19) ensures another lawsuit
More than a decade ago the Kansas Supreme Court took the unprecedented step of injecting itself into the legislative process, ordering the Legislature to cough up an additional $853 million per year to fund K-12 education in its landmark Montoy decision. The Legislature caved, allowing the Court to usurp the constitutional authority of the power of the purse from that … Read More
New school finance law will do nothing to improve outcomes of at-risk students
The Legislature blew it. Given a golden opportunity to give serious attention to the issue of low performance and the huge achievement gaps of Kansas at-risk students, the Legislature instead chose to appease the Supreme Court through an increase in funding. The new school finance law – SB 19 – is full of language aimed at improving educational outcomes of … Read More
New School Funding Formula is Bad for Students and Citizens
The new school funding formula on its way to the Governor’s desk could have been a lot worse if the education lobby got all it wanted, but it’s still bad legislation for students and citizens. The funding is much higher than necessary, causing citizens to be excessively taxed, and most important, schools are not held accountable for improving outcomes. The … Read More