Category: Featured
AG Schmidt to issue legal opinion on Kelly’s internet sales tax increase
Attorney General Derek Schmidt will issue a legal opinion on Gov. Laura Kelly’s directive to expend the internet sales tax…
The parent tax: school enrollment fees in Kansas
Public school enrollment fees in Kansas are allowed by state law but are in reality a double tax on parents.…
Maize stonewalls releasing bond financials ahead of vote
Maize residents are set to vote Tuesday on two bond questions for the Maize school district, but district officials will…
Lawrence paper continues to distort school budget numbers
The Lawrence Journal-World has access to a full picture of USD 497’s budget but continues to report misleading budget numbers…
In latest ‘dark store’ salvo, assessors organization redefines appraisal term
updated August 22 The International Association of Assessing Officers’ (IAAO) board of directors is seeking to redefine the meaning of…
Business leaders won’t rule out a tax increase for Wichita Riverfront project
The private organizations pushing the Riverfront Legacy Masterplan won’t rule out tax increases for changes to Century II and the…
Johnson County projects property tax increase far above inflation
Johnson County released 5-year budget projections for the county, and the county is projecting annual property tax increases that are…
After move from spring to fall, local election voter turnout is mixed bag
A 2015 law designed to increase voter turnout may not be having the intended results. When lawmakers moved local elections…
USD 259: enrollment down, payroll jumps 6%, over 100 non-classroom positions added
Fearful that school districts wouldn’t allocate enough money to classrooms, legislators tried to add accountability measures to the school funding…
McClatchy seeks IRS waiver to reduce pension payments
McClatchy, the newspaper conglomerate that owns the Kansas City Star and the Wichita Eagle, posted a devastating second-quarter earnings report…
State lawmakers unlikely to take up gun control measures
In the wake of mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly says it’s time to enact…
Tonganoxie residents ponder school bond project costing $94 million
Tonganoxie residents vote in early September on a bond project that’s being advertised as costing $51 million, but the total…
School funding facts fudged in USD 497 Lawrence
The USD 497 Lawrence school district is dramatically under-reporting budget numbers to the public, it appears, and the local paper…
Sedgwick county budget predicts large increase in property tax, personnel costs
With inflation holding steady below 2% annually, Sedgwick County’s proposed 2020 budget predicts an 18% property tax increase over the next…
Gov. Kelly orders tax increase on remote sellers
For the third time in a matter of weeks, Gov. Laura Kelly has attempted to usurp the authority of the…
Johnson County execs ‘puzzled’ about sales tax decline, but keep spending more
Sales tax revenues are down, and Johnson County officials are waiting for the courts to determine the fate of several…
Newton school bond: understated costs, unanswered questions
A recent public meeting about the proposed Newton school bond issue left residents with several unanswered questions, including how student…
KASB lays groundwork for more school funding
The Kansas Association of School Board’s advocacy director Mark Tallman is laying the groundwork for seeking more school funding from…
Record 18 legislators score above 90% on 2019 Kansas Freedom Index
Eighteen Kansas House and Senate members scored better than 90% on the 2019 Kansas Freedom Index, besting the previous high of…
Kansas senator calls for change in judicial selection
Prompted by the announced retirement of two Kansas Supreme Court justices, Senator Ty Masterson is calling for a change in…
Listening tour pushes government solutions to Anderson County challenges
GARNETT, Kan. — Suggestions of more government spending topped the menu at a rural prosperity listening tour stop hosted by…
City council members refuse to answer questions on $75 million Wichita baseball stadium
Following news of a professional baseball team failing in Kansas City, Kansas and owing at least $550,000 to local government,…
Wichita is budgeting a $5.5 million property tax increase
The City of Wichita presented the 2020 city budget to City Council on Tuesday but didn’t mention that the budget…
Kansas foster care challenges complicated by politics
The International Foster Care Organization defines foster care as “… a way of providing a family life for children who…