Author: Dave Trabert
McClatchy, Iorio collude to keep kids uneducated
One-third of public school students in Kansas cannot read or do math at grade level, and the McClatchy newspapers and…
More efficient spending keeps taxes low in other states
Every state provides the same basket of services, but some of them have an efficient spending mentality and that allows…
KS education commissioner claims ‘proficient’ is a made-up term
Kansas education commissioner Randy Watson earlier this week told the State Board of Education that “proficient is a made-up term…
KC Star, KU prof consciously deceive Kansans on the flat tax
Tony Botello, the self-described ‘left-leaning’ brain behind the Tony’s KC blog, describes the Kansas City Star’s latest resurrection of the…
State school board member Ann Mah chooses systems over students in school choice debate
When school officials talk about education in general or school choice in particular, their focus is almost exclusively on what…
Gov. Kelly: school choice for my kids but not yours
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is staunchly opposed to school choice, except for her own children. Alumni newsletters show Kelly and…
School officials’ maniacal focus on equity should shift to academic preparation
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin recently blasted Fairfax County school officials for their maniacal focus on equity after they withheld national…
Really, KSDE? Bragging about a record grade inflation rate?
The Kansas Department of Education conducted a fifty-city “Kansans Can Success Tour” in 2021 that felt like high school pep…
Rose Hill superintendent’s student achievement deception is all too typical
Frustrated with district officials’ refusal to acknowledge a student achievement crisis, a group of Rose Hill parents mailed a postcard…
Haysville school official’s wife was paid $41,000 in overtime
Last week, the Sentinel reported that Beth Schutte, a school nurse in USD 261 Haysville, was paid $126,000 last year. …
Haysville school nurse married to district official made $126,000 last year
A school nurse in USD 261 Haysville was the fifth-highest-paid employee in the district last year, paid over $126,000. That…
Superintendent’s SEL thesis premise conflicts with district actions
Morris County Superintendent Aron Dody’s doctoral thesis is built on the premise that implementing social-emotional learning (SEL) is necessary to…
Reading, math proficiency plummet on 2022 NAEP assessment
Reading and math proficiency fell to historic lows on the 2022 NAEP test, with just a third of 4th-grade proficient…
2022 pay increases for some school administrators dwarf teacher pay
The average teacher pay increased by 4.3% (contracted base salary) in the 2022 school year, but some administrators received much…
2022 ACT: Only 21% of Kansas graduates are college-ready in four core subjects
The 2022 ACT results are largely a repeat of the previous year. Only 21% of Kansas graduates are college-ready in…
KSDE, state board cover up disappointing 2022 state assessment results
You might expect that Kansas Commissioner of Education Randy Watson would give the Kansas Board of Education a detailed analysis…
Kansas lost $295 million AGI from people leaving in 2020; even Johnson County lost
Domestic migration data from the IRS shows Kansas lost $295 million in adjusted gross income (AGI) in 2020 because more…
Kansas is #37 in GDP growth over the last three years
The negative economic news for Kansas keeps rolling in, with real (inflation-adjusted) GDP growth at negative 0.6% for the second…
Reps. Miller and Amyx propose $700 million property tax hike
At a press conference earlier this week, Reps. Vic Miller (D-Topeka) and Mike Amyx (D-Lawrence) announced a plan to save…
Kansans give the public school system a ‘C’
Not quite a year ago, Kansans gave the public school system in their district a pre-pandemic grade of ‘B’ (GPA…
Kansas lost 3,400 jobs in August
The August jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Kansas lost 3,400 jobs between July and August, while…
Sen. Hensley isn’t telling the truth about school funding
Sir Winston Churchill once said, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get…
McNiece insists schools are safe, experts disagree
Kansas State Board of Education Member Jim McNiece, whose district includes Wichita, took issue with a school safety report by…
Most elected officials in Sedgwick County propose big property tax hikes
Sedgwick County residents are being hammered by government-spending-induced inflation. U.S. Census data show the county lost population last year, and…