Author: Dave Trabert
Shawnee Mission shortchanges students on services in the name of equity
The Shawnee Mission East High School student newspaper, Harbinger, reports that the school board “has formed a fairness-fighting task force:…
Kansas (sort of) promises not to violate Title VI Civil Rights Act
At its April board meeting, the Kansas State Board of Education couldn’t decide how to react to the U.S. Department…
KSDE is strangely quiet on conflicting claims about students below grade level
State Commissioner of Education Randy Watson was quoted last week by the Kansas Reflector, saying, “A lot of research says…
Promise Scholarship veto shows Laura Kelly is the government governor, not the education governor
Last week, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly vetoed an expansion of the Kansas Promise Scholarship program, a long-established program enjoying bipartisan…
How politics derailed property tax relief in the 2025 Legislature
Republicans and Democrats began the 2025 legislative session with much swagger about passing meaningful property tax reform. However, they adjourned…
KSDE finance chief Harwood wrong on the constitutionality of school funding
Deputy Commissioner for Fiscal and Administrative Services Dr. Frank Harwood inaccurately told the Kansas State Board of Education that an…
Proposed performance level descriptors are designed to continue hiding bad student outcomes
Which of the following provides a clear understanding of student achievement in Kansas: 33% of Kansas students are below grade…
Vanity and desire to help local government stand in the way of property tax relief
Republicans and Democrats began the 2025 legislative session with much swagger about passing meaningful property tax reform. However, they adjourned…
County officials object to pro-taxpayer property tax reforms
The leaders of Johnson, Sedgwick, Wyandotte, Douglas, and Shawnee counties collectively came out in opposition to property tax reform yesterday…
(At least) a $61 million tax increase is coming if revenue-neutral is repealed
More than 2,300 local governments are not raising property taxes this year, and almost 500 more are raising taxes by…
Kansas House votes to increase property tax
Yes, the headline is correct. The Kansas House of Representatives today effectively voted to increase your property tax by again…
House tax committee hears proposal to repeal revenue-neutral; we have a better idea
The Truth in Taxation / Revenue-Neutral Act passed in 2021 is easily the most effective property tax protection that ever…
Cities, counties sitting on more than $5 billion in cash reserves
City and county lobbyists are flooding the state capitol, pressuring legislators not to grant Kansans property tax relief. They tell…
KSDE shows disregard for student achievement, claiming at-risk spending and BNA laws aren’t about improving outcomes
With only 18% of Kansas graduates college-ready (ACT) and about 150,000 students reading below grade level, one might think the…
KSDE halts state assessment waiver request pending State Board vote
At the February 11 State Board of Education meeting, Commissioner of Education Randy Watson told board members that he is…
Kansas appropriately adjusts special education funding
The House Appropriations Committee voted last week to increase special education funding next year by $10 million rather than $72…
Senate approves 3% limit on real estate valuation increases, but the House may not consider it
The Kansas Senate yesterday passed a constitutional amendment that, if approved by the House, would allow voters to decide whether…
KASB attempts to deceive legislators in the SB 47 fiscal note
Having a good BS detector is essential for serving in the Kansas Legislature, especially for interpreting fiscal notes that accompany…
Please, abandon the soft bigotry of low expectations, Dr. Watson
Emerson Elementary School in USD 500 Kansas City received a federal school improvement grant in 2010, and district officials met…
NAEP 2024: Kansas again below the national average on Nation’s Report Card
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), acknowledged as the “gold standard” of assessments by the Kansas Department of Education,…
USD 453 Leavenworth administration misleads school board on state assessment results
The administration at USD 453 Leavenworth consciously gave school board members and parents a false impression of high school state…
Kansas ACT scores and college readiness fall again, hitting new lows
The ACT results just released for the 2024 school year show further declines in both raw scores and college readiness.…
Dismal 2024 state assessment confirms outcomes won’t improve until adult behaviors change
Results and reactions to the 2024 state assessment could have been predicted more than a year ago, and the exact…
Districts approved pay hikes for school administrators in 2024 while outcomes remain tragically low
The 2024 school year was déjà vu all over again – nice pay increases for administrators and low proficiency levels.…