Tag: Dave Trabert
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…
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…
Kelly vetoes tax bill, reporters act like her deputies
Instead of asking hard questions about obviously misleading statements in Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of HB 2033, reporters across Kansas…
School district lawyers say $1 billion isn’t enough to resolve Gannon suit
Legislators just increased school funding another $90 million per year, bringing the total being phased in through the 2023 school…
KCUR report misleads on school funding
Public radio station KCUR published a story suggesting a Kansas school district can’t fund basic building maintenance, but they left…
Mark Janus testifies in support of Kansas public employees
When Mark Janus began work as a child support specialist for the state of Illinois, no one ever asked him…
Universities largely to blame for tuition hikes, not Legislature
Kansas college students are incurring a lot more debt to pay tuition and fees than they were a decade ago,…
Kansas Sales Tax 8th Highest in the Nation
Kansas has the eighth highest state and local average sales tax rate, according to a new study from the Tax…
Shocker: Lawrence Paper Misleads on Property Tax Increase
Carrying the water for government, the Lawrence Journal-World claims that the Lawrence school district is reducing property taxes. That claim…
Only One-Third of Public School Eighth Graders Proficient in Math
Two-thirds, or 67 percent, of American public school eighth graders aren’t proficient in math, according to the 2017 National Assessment…
Colyer Calls on Legislature to Adopt Plan That May Require Tax Increase
Gov. Jeff Colyer is calling on lawmakers to adopt a Kansas House school financing plan that would add $500 million…
Lawmakers Forward $500M Education Plan Likely To Require Tax Increases
A committee of lawmakers forwarded a proposal that would increase school funding by about $500 million over the next 5…
Study Recommendation: Enormous Piles of Fresh Cash for Public Schools
Lawmakers got a preview of an education finance study commissioned to assist them in drafting a new school funding mechanism.…
Why Did Tax Cuts Work In NC, IN, and TN But Not in Kansas?
The question that Kansas Policy Institute President Dave Trabert raises in his new book, “What Was Really the Matter with…
Gov. Colyer Outlines School Funding Objectives in Speech
In his second major speech in two weeks, Gov. Jeff Colyer addressed what he called “the elephant in the room.”…
Voters Want School Accountability, Kansas Policy Institute Poll Reveals
Kansas voters want schools to be held accountable for educational outcomes, a new poll reveals. In the poll, commissioned by…
Hutch District Sitting on Large Cash Reserve Balance
The Hutchinson School District, a plaintiff in the Gannon lawsuit, is maintaining cash reserves of almost half of the district…
State Funds But School Boards Decide How Money Is Spent
Despite an influx of state aid to public schools, some districts will spend less on instruction as a percentage of their total…
College Readiness Scores Stagnant; Former Rep. Calls Information “Inaccurate”
The Kansas Department of Education released state assessment scores last week and the results weren’t good. They showed that only…
Supreme Court Rejects School Funding Model It Once Used
The Kansas Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional lawmakers’ most recent attempt at a school financing formula, in part, because the formula…
KS Supreme Court Rules New School Funding Inadequate, Inequitable
Lawmakers have until April 30 to craft a new school financing formula. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled legislators’ latest school…
SFFF Lawyers Clean Up with $7M from Schools
School districts funneled more than $7 million in taxpayer funding to attorneys who sued the state for additional taxpayer money.…
Blue Valley District So Poor It Spent $130K in Legal Fees to Deny a Student Books
The Blue Valley School District is so poor officials spent $130,000 in legal fees trying to get out of an…
Former Budget Director Spins State Spending Tall Tale
Former Kansas budget director Duane Goossen fired up the spin yesterday in a guest column for the Wichita Eagle. Goossen…