Kansas AG begs lawmakers to pass school funding plan soon

[Zorro]

Source: AP

Kansas' attorney general begged lawmakers Friday to quickly approve a plan that would satisfy a court mandate to increase spending on public schools, though it would require majority Republicans to bridge big differences in mere days.

Some legislators and Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer have worried that a frustrated state Supreme Court would take the unprecedented step of preventing the state from distributing dollars through a flawed education funding system — effectively closing schools statewide.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt has until April 30 to report to the high court on how the GOP-controlled Legislature responded to an education funding ruling last fall. Schmidt sent a letter Friday to legislative leaders in both parties, saying his office needs "adequate time" to prepare its report and he was expressing his "profound concern" that no school funding bill has passed.

The court declared in October that the state's current funding of more than $4 billion a year is insufficient for lawmakers to fulfill their duty under the Kansas Constitution to finance a suitable education for every child. The House and Senate have passed rival school funding plans, and their negotiators planned to meet for the first time Friday to start work on a final version.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/kansas-ag-begs-lawmakers-pass-school-funding-plan-183835467.html

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The Republican war on public education continues unabated.

[nykym]

1. So they had 6 momths

to clean up the mess they made.
What was so important that they could not work this out?
Naming new roads?
taking away health care?
restricting access for women?
Voting themselves a raise?
What? What? What?

[Hortensis]

3. The Kochs and those like them want to END public education.

And, of course, all the laws, taxes, and institutions it requires, including laws requiring compulsory education, public and private. Everyone is to have maximum personal freedom to decide what education they and their children will have, within their personal means, of course, without sponging on people like the Kochs through government.

Amazing how many still don't believe that's real. Too big. Too ridiculous. Too evil. Too stupid.

And no state has the kochtopus's tentacles into its government more than KS. After all, it's their home state and, until the good people of KS unite to take back control, KS government is mostly run by agents put in office to destroy it.

Not the KS supreme court, though. Yet.

[erronis]

5. Thanks. While some think the Kochs/etc. want to push kids to private/church/paid schools

I think they mainly want a less-educated potential electorate.

Maybe that's why the typical "liberal arts" education has slowly been shrunk. Western Civilization, Humanities, Comparative Studies - nah, not needed.

And I agree that not everyone needs to be trained towards a Master/PhD in whatever. But we should all be trained into relevant programs and be given the knowledge to deal with a changing world. Not just a "Koch" world.

[Hortensis]

8. Yes. They're in league with the religious right

to grab power, but not noticeably religious themselves. Their histories all along suggest they don't care whether people live, die, do well, do poorly, educate their children, or not. I suspect they may really be fascists like their dad, and an uneducated populace is easier to keep dutiful and useful. But libertarian serves them better as a philosophy for their planning for the rest of us.

I'm a descendant of the enlightenment. Thus, to me "relevant" programs for education are whatever the individual chooses. Period. When education is affordable, we end up with an educated populace, machinists with history degrees if that's their choice, because almost everyone wants the rewards of earning wages.

And, simple fact well known to our founding fathers, democracy MUST have an educated populace or fail.

Which these evil bastards are also well aware of.

[MuseRider]

9. The Supreme Court

was a huge target for Brownback. He tried his best to make it an appointed court and he wanted it done while he was in office because he wanted the appointments to then be lifetime appointments. He had a bunch of very young, hard rightwingers waiting in line. Thank god the people did not let that happen.

Thank you, very few people realize that we have been the practice field for the Koch's for 30 - 40 years. They expanded into Colorado for a while and messed them up too. I recall in the 80's maybe?

This education thing is scary. The constitutional amendment that they want that would keep the courts out of it all and is scary. I hope they do not get that far because I am afraid people who are just sick and tired of all the fighting might just vote to allow it.

I have no faith in the Kansas voter. We have a ton of good people here who vote like idiots. I am terrified that Kobach is our next governor, especially since Ormond is now in the race again.

Anyway, thanks. It is hard to listen to the "Kansas deserves what they get voting like the idiots they are". While that is true there is a deeper reason the voters here are what they are. We are seeing it throughout the country now and it scares me to death. Those people are very good at changing hearts and minds.

[Hortensis]

10. KS "the practice field for the Koch's for 30 - 40 years."

Really good post from Kansas, thanks. It's far too easy to just call Republican voters idiots and not bother to wonder why they think so differently now from the way they did 40 years ago. What on earth happened to protecting what was "old and tried," as Lincoln put it?

Nationally.

[Ligyron]

2. Wouldn't it be great if...

there were laws requiring legislators to sent their own kids to the public schools?

Bet we'd see an real improvement real quick.

[turbinetree]

4. So that asshole gallivanting around the world as a special ambassador, and the legislature

that bankrupted the education system...................should pay and be forced to read, their class warfare:

November 2018 cannot get here fast enough

[BobTheSubgenius]

6. "So.....are you evil, or just massively incompetent?"

"Please bear in mind that those two are not mutually exclusive before you answer. There really should be an 'All Of The Above' option for you."

I understand the challenges in creating a comprehensive, K-12 curriculum that is entirely Biblically-based, but they've known about this mandate and its deadline for some time.

[DoctorJoJo]

7. Welcome To The Cock Brothers' Utopia.

Their dream is to make the USA look like Kansas!