September 28, 2024

Keeping Media and Government Accountable.

Tag: transparency

USD 286 Chautauqua school board fined over KOMA violations

The Chautauqua County Board of Education has been found liable for multiple violations of the Kansas Open Meetings Act. According…

Read More

School board members share ideas on improving student outcomes at 2nd annual KSBRC conference

With the goal of reversing the downward trend in K-12 proficiency levels, school board members and superintendents from across Kansas…

Read More

500% tax increase, lack of transparency frustrates Douglas County taxpayer

Citing property taxes in Douglas County are up more than 500% in the last 25 years, nearly five times as…

Read More

JoCo Commissioners release Peg Trent opinion on library funding after Sentinel publication

In a victory for transparency, within hours of publishing a story about Johnson County Chief Counsel Peg Trent refusing to…

Read More

Olathe school district dodging questions about legal fees

The Olathe Unified School District administration and board of education are either refusing to answer questions about legal fees defending…

Read More

Johnson County Commission Chairman allows anti-Christian rant that violates county policy

Johnson County Commission Chair Mike Kelly has taken steps to stifle citizens who are concerned with or critical of county…

Read More

SB 427 would give school board members tools to improve transparency and accountability

School board members would no longer be restricted to whom they could speak on district issues, nor be barred from…

Read More

Beloit group claims school board lacks transparency in bond issue campaign

Voters in USD 273 Beloit go to the polls in April to decide the fate of a $20 million package…

Read More

House panel debates bill limiting KORA charges to provide public documents

Taxpayers won’t be overcharged to receive public documents in Kansas Open Records Act (KORA) requests any longer if House Bill…

Read More

LVCO superintendents lobby legislators and try to exclude board members

A decision to leave local school board members off an invitation list for Leavenworth County superintendents to lobby state legislators…

Read More

AG opinion on state law raises concerns about legal notices

A Kansas taxpayer is sounding an alarm about a recent opinion by Attorney General Kris Kobach, and its effect on…

Read More

Connell says shady attempt to alter ethics policy was behind his loss of temper

Disagreement over an attempt to remove conflict of interest language from district ethics policy prompted an Olathe Board of Education…

Read More

Evidence-Based Grading: another attempt to obscure poor performance?

The Shawnee Mission School District will unveil the concept of “Evidence-Based Grading” (EBG) in the upcoming school year,fueling the conversation…

Read More

USD 453 Leavenworth won’t remove false claims about academic progress

Glowing, but incorrect posts about academic progress at USD 453 Leavenworth have appeared on the school’s Facebook page, but apparently…

Read More

Council Grove school leaders silent on district controversies

USD 417 in Council Grove has been rocked in recent weeks with the resignations of its curriculum director, school board…

Read More

Attorney files KORA complaint against Republic County over wind issues

An attorney for concerned landowners in Republic County, opposed to wind farm development by NextEra energy, has filed a Kansas…

Read More

School Board Member Free Speech and Transparency Act has hearing

HB 2382, the School District Board of Education Member Free Speech and Transparency Act, was introduced at a hearing before…

Read More

Parent cites Leavenworth High School for lack of transparency, accountability

What began last year as concern over content in an English Language Arts class has repeated itself this school year…

Read More

Performance-based budgeting law is effectively ignored by state agencies

A report on performance-based budgeting in Kansas reminds readers of a famous quote about government spending: “A billion here, a…

Read More

Kansas Supreme Court: KORA requires production of electronic records

A recent Kansas Supreme Court decision has put public records custodians on notice — under the Kansas Open Records Act…

Read More

JOCO Commission Chair Mike Kelly acts to restrict public access to meetings

Incoming Chairman of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) Mike Kelly has announced changes to public access and comment…

Read More

Prairie Hills USD 113 to close Wetmore school for financial windfall

The Prairie Hills School Board meets December 12th  to consider closing the Wetmore Academic Center, and is expected to schedule…

Read More

Kansas Open Records exemption allows elected officials to avoid scrutiny

Changes to the Kansas Open Records Act intended to close a loophole preventing the use of private emails to circumvent…

Read More

School Choice advocates hope wins in West Virginia, Arizona, encourage Kansas legislature

School Choice supporters in Kansas are applauding a pair of recent victories in West Virginia and Arizona that they hope…

Read More