Writing for the school newspaper has always been one of my favorite things to do as a high school journalist. Because our school is small and our staff can be limited, I have had opportunities to write articles on a number of topics. When gathering information for articles, I typically email the people who I’d like to include in my article first. Before asking them questions, I ask if they would prefer having the questions sent to them or having me call to interview them. When extra information is needed for my articles, I search factual websites. Currently, I am working on interviewing the 2018 Kansas Gubernatorial Candidates. My goal is to have all of them interviewed (via email/social media or phone call) by the end of the school year as I am planning to write feature articles on each of them. Below are text versions on a selection of my articles/editorials that have been published in The Leopard Prowl. You can view the published version of these articles/editorials by going to the "Design" page of my portfolio and clicking on the file buttons of each issue.
Miscellaneous Articles:
Teacher shortage - Published on Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Waiting over the span of the summer, Lincoln USD 298 Superintendent Kathy Robertson and the Board of Education (BOE) looked for a candidate to fill in the vacant high school English teaching position. After coming to the conclusion that an application would most likely not be received, the BOE hired Robertson to temporarily fill in the position in lieu of having students take English classes on computers. Lincoln Junior/Senior High School (LJSHS) Principal Christi Walter said, “This past year alone we only saw very few applications for many of our positions. Since Mrs. Robertson is licensed to teach English, we didn't have to start the year without an English teacher. We are very lucky she is willing to take the time out of her "other" job to help out up here. We really appreciate her willingness to help.” Having the trouble of not finding teachers to fill-in positions has not only became a problem in the Lincoln school district; the issue can be seen in other areas of the state as well. In August of 2016, the Kansas State Department of Education’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Teacher Vacancies and Supply released a report relating to the shortage issue. During the 2015-16 school year, there were 277 teacher vacancies with 109 of those being in the Southwest region of the state. Southeast Kansas saw 17 vacancies, the North Central region had 15 and the Northwest had four. South Central and Northeastern Kansas had 74 and 58 vacancies respectively with the majority of them being in the Wichita and Kansas City, KS area. The school districts in Southwest and North Central Kansas appear to be those who are being hit the hardest. Nearly half (18 out of 38) of the school districts in the Southwest reported that they had at least one vacancy in the 2015-16 school year. 13 of the 40, nearly a third of the school districts in North Central Kansas reported vacancies. One problem of why school districts are having trouble recruiting teachers is because of the decline in those majoring in education degrees. According to the Blue Ribbon Task Force report, there was a decrease of 7,752 students in 2011 majoring in education at the 25 teacher preparation programs in Kansas to 5,379 in 2014. A gradual decline has also been seen in the amount of those graduating from the state programs with 2,271 in 2011 and 1,901 in 2014. According to Debbie Mercer, Dean and Professor at the Kansas State University College of Education, they have seen relatively stable enrollment numbers over the last few years. They have however recognized the teacher shortages occurring. “As a state, we continue to struggle with certain content areas and with certain geographic areas of the state,” Mercer said. “For example, special education is the area with the greatest need. However, English/language arts, science, math, family and consumer sciences, and school counseling have also been mentioned as need areas. Further, certain areas of the state see greater need including Western Kansas and our large urban school districts.” At Fort Hays State University (FHSU), a decline in elementary and secondary education majors has occurred. This year, however, they saw an increase in elementary majors. The number of secondary education majors continued the downward trend; however, their Transition-to-Teaching (T2T) program has grown from 75 to over 200 in the last four years. The T2T programs offers students to choose a college degree in the area that they will be teaching. All T2T students must be hired by a school district before entering the program. The number in the program is not enough to keep up with demand. FHSU College of Education Dean Paul Adams said, “The initial decline for elementary occurred several years back when school districts had to cut budgets – meaning teacher positions. At the same time this occurred there was a great deal of negative material circulating about teachers and the teaching profession – such as the removal of tenure and due process from teacher contracts. Teaching was not an attractive option as it did not appear to be a respected position.” As a smaller and private institution, Sterling College has witnessed a large decline in those majoring in education. According to Dr. Karen Baehler, an Associate Professor of Education, Sterling use to see as many as 30 clinical teachers each semester. Recently, they have only graduated 11-15 certified teachers each May. Baehler believes that the shortage not only affects the school districts themselves, but many students as well. “Regardless of the state, students in high-poverty and high-minority schools are typically hit hardest when there are teacher shortages,” Baehler said. “Teacher attrition remains high and is also a contributor to the shortage. Many teachers will leave the profession after five years, and will cite dissatisfaction with their job as the reason.” With the many teacher vacancies that are taking place across the state, some are beginning to question what the reasons are and what the answer to the problem is or if there even is one. Lincoln Elementary School (LES) Principal Steve Koch said, “I do believe there is a shortage of teachers in Kansas. I believe one of the factors is teacher pay and benefits. There is a perception that teachers receive very good wages, benefits, and summers off. Teachers’ pay, for their level of education, is average at best. Teachers are required to pay into KPERS for their retirement benefits. Few districts offer additional retirement benefits, however the benefit is usually low. And summers off sounds great, until you figure in the number of hours spent ‘off-the-clock’ preparing lessons, grading papers, classroom management details, attending workshops and/or taking courses to maintain your license, etc. ” Koch, like many others, do not know what the answer is to the teacher shortage problem in Kansas. “I wish I knew,” Koch said. “I have often compared teaching to a horse race. Teachers want to ‘win,’ and are expected ‘to win.’ The jockey, whether it be the state or federal legislators, the department of education, organizations, or individuals, are spurring the horse as hard as possible and at the same time have the reins pulled back as hard as possible. I do not believe the teacher shortage is due to any one problem.”
Click on the button below to see how I gathered information for this article. The document is an example of how I usually organize information for my articles. All quotes for this article were received via email.
What is KESA? - Published Wednesday, December 6, 2017
At the November 6, 2017 Board of Education (BOE) meeting, the district calendar committee made the suggestion to the BOE that teachers and staff needed more time to be able to work on Multi-Tier System of Supports (MTSS) and Kansas Education Systems Accreditation (KESA). The BOE and calendar committee discussed possible ways that would allow for more time in future school years; of the options, letting students out of school early on two days of each month came up. At the meeting, no action was taken by the BOE. KESA confuses people and makes them question exactly what its purpose is. Overall, KESA is an accreditation system under the Kansas Department of Education that describes a vision and the steps that need to be taken in order for Kansas to lead the world in the success of each student. All public school districts in Kansas are required to go through the KESA process. It has been determined under the KESA system that successful Kansas high school graduates should have academic preparation, cognitive preparation, technical skills, employability skills and civic engagement. If schools focus on teaching these skills, it is the hope that their students will be prepared for post-secondary schooling, receiving a certification in a specific labor industry or entering the workforce. Schools are to look at results - past test scores, graduation rates, kindergarten readiness, social-emotional measurements and postsecondary success of graduates - in order to determine what needs to be done to provide a better education to its students. Evidence-based practices are to be put in place by the schools. The practices are to involve relationships, relevance, responsive culture and rigor. Relationships mean that acceptable levels of communication and involvement are being established between the school and its staff, students, families and community. Relevance means that a school is analyzing its curriculum, ways of instruction, student engagement and how it utilizes technology, and determining if it is all suitable - making sure that they are providing their students with the best education. Responsive culture means a school is determining how successful its leadership, early childhood programs and nutrition and wellness of its students are; the district in which the school is located should also be studied to determine what kind of community the students are living in. Finally, rigor means that a school is developing opportunities and resources to help a student succeed and prepare for life after high school. This includes offering Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes and professional learning programs. After the practices have began to be used, foundational structures are to be developed. Foundational structures are defined under the Kansas Department of Education as “programs, structures, or practices to be essential and, in KESA, prerequisite to receiving an accreditation rating from the State Board.” Of these foundational structures, MTSS (an at-risk program) is one that has to be implemented in all Kansas school districts. Other structures are diversity and equity, physical and mental health, civic and social engagement, and arts and cultural appreciation. These items take a large amount of planning in order to execute them correctly. Compliance is the final step that schools are to follow in the KESA vision of education; this means that all state and federal laws and regulations should be followed. KESA is set up as a tiered system; each of the tiers is a new year in the process to reach KESA accreditation. The years are numbered zero through five and schools are allowed to choose which year they enter the process. Schools are however expected to have the steps completed for the tiers that come before the tier (year) that they enter. Lincoln’s school district will be entering the process on year three. In order to reach year three, site councils and leadership teams were established both at the district level and at each of the schools. Site councils consist of a combination of school district staff members and administrators, business owners, parents, and citizens of the community; leadership teams are strictly staff members and administrators. These site councils and leadership teams were tasked to examine statistical data and results in order to determine what steps needed to be taken to begin practices that will lead to foundational structures. Teachers and staff were then to come together and develop goals. During year three, the goals are to start becoming a reality; because of this, time for teachers to discuss items is necessary for plans to be implemented. This is why the calendar committee presented to the BOE - proposing ways that would allow teachers more time to hold discussions and make accomplishments. Currently the Lincoln school district is planning to enter in on year three.
Bond Election - Series of Articles and Editorials:
Board approves bond election - Published on Wednesday, January 11, 2017 This is the first part of a series of articles that will be written on the topic of the bond election. On Monday, December 5, at the USD 298 Board of Education (BOE) regular meeting, BOE members voted unanimously 7-0 to hold a bond election in the spring of 2017, attempting to raise $4.9 million. If passed, the money would be used to make repairs and replacement to the roofs at both Lincoln Elementary School (LES) and Lincoln Jr/Sr High School (LJSHS), install new rooftop HVAC units at LJSHS, install a new HVAC system at LES, and build FEMA storm shelters at both schools. At the meeting, BOE members were able to view a timeline provided by Jacob and Joseph Hurla of 360 Energy Engineers that explained the schedule details of the campaign. The following dates were included in the timeline: December 12, 2016 - Send application for state aid to state board of education; January 2, 2017 - Make general information public through varying sources and educate staff on challenges & the bond process; January 9, 2017 - Call district patrons to discuss bond intent, provide general information and explain the need for the bond election; January 17, 2017 - Work with the Lincoln County Clerk and Election Officer; January 25, 2017 - Present preliminary analysis to the community in a public forum and tour; February 1, 2017 - Mail home marketing info to the students; February 9, 2017 - State BOE considers application; decision expected soon; March 1, 2017 - Second community presentation and walkthrough led by 360 representatives; March 29, 2017 - Reach out to all voters for potential last minute questions; April 1, 2017 - Mail home final reminders to the students & staff and mail out ballots to district patrons; April 11, 2017 - Ballots received and bond outcome determined. The BOE members were also provided a handout about financing scenarios if the bond election were to fail. They would have to consider these alternative funding sources in order to complete the repairs and renovations.
Forum held on the bond election - Published on Wednesday, February 8, 2017
This is the second part of a series of articles that will be written on the topic of the bond election. About three years ago, USD 298 hired officials to survey both of its buildings: Lincoln Elementary School (LES) and Lincoln Junior/Senior High School (LJSHS). It was soon brought to the attention of the Board of Education (BOE) that the two buildings were in need of some major repairs or replacements. Due to Gary Nelson, the district’s former superintendent retiring, the BOE had to take a break from dealing with these issues while hiring Kathy Robertson, the current superintendent. Shortly after Robertson’s hiring, the BOE selected 360 Energy Engineers to help them determine the district's top priorities and how to fiscally afford the repairs and replacements. Between 360, the district and a district-formed Community Facilities Committee, it was decided that the main issues in the facilities were the roofs and HVAC systems as well as the need for community-accessible FEMA Tornado Shelters at both buildings. The Community Facilities Committee determined that a bond was the best way to go in order to accomplish the needed replacements and repairs. After much consideration and advice from 360 and the Community Facilities Committee, the BOE unanimously voted at their regular December 2016 meeting to hold a $4.9 million bond election in the Spring of 2017. The BOE then viewed a timeline provided by 360 that highlighted and explained the schedule details and dates of the campaign for the bond. Of the key dates mentioned, two were of public forums where the district and 360 representatives could explain to the public what the bond was about, what it would be used for and why they should be in favor of it. In addition, the district would also provide a tour of the two buildings in order to allow the public to witness the issues in person. The first public forum was held at the special BOE meeting on Wednesday, January 25 at LJSHS. BOE President Monty Breneman opened the meeting at 6:00 p.m. After a brief introduction, Breneman handed over the meeting to 360 representative Jacob Hurla. Hurla told the public that the goal of the forum was to effectively inform the community on what the needs of the district are and how they (360) planned to help implement the projects and improvements in the future. Hurla began his presentation by highlighting the challenges that have been identified by the school district: water leakage in the hallways, classrooms and gymnasiums of LJSHS and LES, recurring issues with HVAC rooftop units at a growing rate, the safety of students during inclement weather, security due to the need to open doors at LES on warm days and the overall comfort at LES. Each issue was then discussed thoroughly by Hurla. Moving away from the discussion of the issues, Hurla explained how the proposed $4.9 million bond would fund the repairs and replacements as well as how it would affect those who lived within the USD 298 district. Hurla emphasized that if the voters approved the district issuance of the general obligation bonds, the school district would be able to secure financing at what is still considered to be historically low interest rates. It was then explained that residential homes would see a $4.43 monthly property tax increase for a house appraised at the value of $50,000, $8.85 for a house appraised at the value of $100,000 and $17.72 for a house appraised at $200,000. Commercial property owners would see a monthly increase of $19.27 for property valued at $100,000 and agricultural property owners would see an increase of $46.25 if they have an agricultural income or productivity of $200,000. After the explanation of the financial aspect of the bond, the proposed FEMA-rated storm shelters were discussed. Where the shelters would be located and how they could be used as a multi-purpose building were of the main topics discussed. Throughout the forum, members of the Community Facilities Committee and teachers of both LJSHS and LES spoke. Melodee Larsen, a fourth grade teacher at LES, described how she could remember the tornado that came through Lincoln a few years ago. Larsen as well as other teachers acted as if they were just conducting a normal tornado drill, but the students could tell that something wasn’t right. “You have 30 third- and fourth-graders all down on their hands and knees, trying to keep their heads down, and their hands on their heads and they’re crying,” Larsen said. Larsen reassured her students that they were in a safe place. “Do you think I believed it,” she said. “No. I didn’t because I looked up there and thought, ‘Heaven help us if a storm or something else comes through those windows because there’s going to be shattered glass everywhere all over these children.’ And you know, these might not be my biological kids, but they are my kids.” The tornado ended up touching down about a half-mile outside of town, missing both LES and LJSHS. “And I think we need to consider that - how important a storm shelter is to our children because you know, all it would take is one,” Larsen said. “And then we would all feel regret that we didn’t do the things that we needed to do because of the loss of one child. That’s all it would take. I know I would. That’s why I’m definitely in favor of this bond issue. Because who’s more important to us than our children and our future generations?” Even though the bond issue would raise property taxes for those who live in the USD 298 district, Larsen said that it was something that the taxpayers should do in support of their community. “I continue to pay taxes to support my community even though my children are no longer in district schools,” Larsen said. “It’s something we all need to do to promote education, and a safe education, because that’s what it’s all about - community.” Christi Walter, a math teacher at LJSHS, also voiced her memories of the tornado and her reason to vote yes for the bond issue. Before the tornado occurred, during practice drills, Walter would often think about what it would be like if there was an actual tornado touchdown. “Two years ago, I was in that room with those kids,” Walter said. “And when you have all those kids in there, and you’re looking at the ceiling, and the tornado was across the highway, you get a new perspective. Two of my own children were in those same rooms as were many of yours, and your whole perspective changes. And like Melodee said, do we want to wait until it’s too late, or do we want to take care of things now so we don’t have to go there?” Walter said, “You entrust us to protect (your children), and I felt that day, we weren’t doing a very good job. It’s no longer a joke, okay? It’s serious. The rooms, the ceilings. We haven’t done much maintenance to this building. I think it’s really important that we continue and work to keep this building of the best in our league.” At the end of the presentation, after all questions were asked and answered, TJ Johnson, Vice-President of the BOE, explained the voting information for the bond election. Johnson said that the bond election will only affect those who lived within the boundaries of Lincoln USD 298. In order to vote, you must be registered 30 days before the election date. The County Clerk will mail out the official ballots to each qualified voter. Wednesday, March 22, 2017 is the anticipated mailing date, with the ballots needing to be received by the County Clerk by noon on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Proceeding the presentation was a facilities tour of both the LJSHS and LES buildings. If the bond issue passes, the replacements of the LJSHS roof and rooftop HVAC units would take place over this summer. The LES roof replacement and rooftop HVAC unit installation as well as the construction of the community FEMA shelters at both schools would take place during the summer of 2018, with possible ground work for the tornado shelters beginning in the spring of 2018. If the bond issue fails, the district will face some difficult decisions. Robertson said, “The district doesn't have enough money to fix any one item but will have to take each item, for instance, the roof at LJSHS would only be done in sections over several years. This is the way each item would be done, over a series of years.” - Another public forum has been scheduled for March 1; however, district officials said that the definite date is still being determined.
LCCRS thinks changes need made on bond - Published Wednesday, April 5, 2017
The Lincoln County Citizens for Responsible Spending (LCCRS) has come up with a bond proposal that they say is better than USD 298’s bond proposal. They say that their proposal will cost the taxpayers less money, will be more responsible and will be less invasive. We reached out to Jared Spear, treasurer of LCCRS, to learn more about their proposal. The following is a Q&A with responses that were received from Spear via email: 1) Where are you going to find the 1.5 million dollars that is proposed in your plan? Spear: 1.5 Million will come from a bond, just like the bond that the school is trying to get passed for 4.9 million. It just will not require our taxes to be raised as high nor have as long of pay period. It would also decrease the amount of interest that would have to be repaid. 2) How many students will the factory direct EF5-rated shelters hold in your proposed plan? Spear: They are available in different capacities to fit the needs for each building, for example at the preschool there could be a shelter with a capacity of 35. Another shelter would also be placed at the new building to the south of the grade school (kindergarten building). The capacities vary on what is necessary for where they are placed - ranging from 3 to 500 per structure size; so, there are options. 3) Where would these shelters be built at and/or by who (what company is being used)? Spear: Crest Precast is one of the companies we have contacted. You can veiw their website at www.crestprecastconcrete.com/precast-concrete-storm-shelters/ 4) How are the two low cost 60’x60’ buildings going to be built? Why do you think your plan for this is more suitable than the school district’s proposal? Do you think that there will be enough room for all of the new buildings listed in your proposal? Spear: The building quotes came from TopLine Steel buildings in Wichita, Ks. These building quotes included concrete and construction. The reason they cost so much less is because they are not trying to also serve as the purpose of storm shelters. A storm shelter is not suppose to be a dual purpose building; for example, if the tornado would happen at lunch time, the said storm shelter would be full of lunch tables, food trays and silverware. This would greatly decrease the capacity of people the shelter would hold and increase the amount of time necessary to get the people into the shelter. Severe weather and tornados are not predictable and do not give a large time warning. We got these quotes for the buildings because originally they wanted a new lunch room at the grade school and a wrestling/weight room addition at the high school. With the quotes for the building and the shelters, everyone's needs are met for a far less amount, in savings of around a million dollars. 5) Does the cost of the two buildings ($250,000) include the building being finished, including plumbing, electrical, transportation to Kansas? Will the buildings meet all the state requirements that schools have to follow? Will the storm shelters have restrooms? Spear: Yes, the cost does include plumbing, electrical, transportation, freight and hvac. Yes, the buildings are ADA compliant, along with the storm shelters as well. In the rough estimate that we have gathered, no, there will not be restrooms in the shelters, however that is something that can be added if deemed necessary. But the only time anyone will be in these shelters will be due to a tornado. 6) The LES building will include a kitchen, is that figured into the $250,000? Or just a lunch room? Spear: The building is 60’x60’, which is larger than the dual purpose shelters were going to be, so there is plenty of room for a kitchen; however, the price does not include the new appliances. 7) Are the mini-split heat pump/air conditioners suggested in your proposal going to provide enough cooling/heating for all classrooms of all sizes? Will they be accessible for all rooms? Spear: The mini split systems are available in many btu ranges - allowing them to accommodate different room sizes. The mini splits can be placed anywhere and do not have to have direct access to an outside wall. All rooms will have heat and A/C. 8) Does your plan include replacing the HVAC units at the high school? Spear: Yes, the plan includes replacing the HVAC systems that do not properly function at the high school. 9) What low cost repairs are you looking for when it comes to roof repairment? Spear: www.pmsilicone.com ; It is a silicone base coating that has a 20 year guarantee and Ray Roofing of Salina, KS is a certified installer. This repair method has been used on other Kansas schools; Shawnee Mission and Blue Ridge Valley have both used this style of roofing repair. 10) How did you gain your information for your proposed plan? From what sources did it come from? Spear: We started our research on the internet and then called companies and spoke to them about the proposed repairs needed and they were more than happy with giving us emailed quotes or bids. We looked for solutions that were cost effective and have been proven effective in solving similar problems. 11) Why do you think that your proposed plan is better than the school district’s plan? Spear: The difference between our plan and their projected plan is roughly 3.1 million dollars less - which is a pretty large number. So some of the options that have been proposed are extremely expensive which brings to mind that 360 Energy’s income is based off of 6% of the money that is spent with them (which is a number that was given at the meeting by the 360 Energy representative). If all ideas of 360 Energy are used, they stand to make roughly $270,000. We could use that cost towards the repairs and do our own research for finding companies that are capable of doing necessary repairs. Another thing that has not been looked into is the maintenance and repair cost of some of the options recommended by 360 Energy over the course of the next 20 years. For example, our high school is just 20 years old and is now needing massive repairs on the structure. 12) While putting your plan together and encouraging it through letters sent to the public and full-page advertisements in the Lincoln Sentinel-Republican, was the time limit on some of the bond projects taken into consideration? Spear: Our projects could actually be completed in less time because they are not nearly as invasive nor extensive. A bond with a more acceptable dollar figure would easily pass.
Editorial- Bond issue: why everyone should vote yes - Published Wednesday, March 1, 2017
“I want to pay more taxes”...said no one ever. Who wants to pay more than they already have to in taxes. No one that I know of; however, sometimes we just have to do it, because it’s the right thing to do. I think that it is important that the taxpayers living in the USD 298 Lincoln District vote “yes” in the upcoming bond election. For those of you who are unsure on how to vote, here are some answers to a few of the questions you may have: I didn’t have air conditioning when I was in school, so why do kids need air conditioning today? First of all I will acknowledge that it would make sense to think this way. At one time it was uncommon to see air conditioning in schools; but then, schools would often not start the school year until after Labor Day and end it in early May. They did this to avoid a majority of the hot summer days. Today, schools generally open in early-to-mid August and end in mid-to-late May. For the schools that don’t have proper air conditioning systems, students end up having to put up with conditions that make it hard for them to concentrate. Without regular concentration, students can’t perform as well on their schoolwork. A lack of concentration from students also puts a lot of stress on teachers. Lincoln hasn’t seen a devastating tornado in a long time, so why do we need to invest in tornado shelters? In May 2015, Lincoln witnessed a fast-developing tornado. Luckily, it moved around the city; however, it came within a mile of hitting Lincoln Jr/Sr High School (LJSHS). This was a worrisome event for both the students of LJSHS and Lincoln Elementary School (LES), as well as their parents. In both buildings, you could find students crying about whether they were going to be okay or not as they were concerned that they weren’t in a safe place. The event was also difficult for some teachers as they too knew that they weren’t in a safe place. If a tornado were to come through Lincoln again and hit the schools, and if the bond issue doesn’t pass, people are going to feel awful if even one individual is killed. Is your small savings in property taxes really worth taking the risk of another tornado coming through and taking the lives of our students? I don’t think so. Properly constructed FEMA tornado shelters are needed in order to promote better safety in both our schools and community. As an extra benefit, the FEMA tornado shelters would be able to be multi-purpose. This would be huge for both schools. At LES, the FEMA shelter would also be used as a cafeteria; a kitchen and commons area would be built onto the shelter. This would be great as the current lunchroom in the basement is outdated, limited on space and nearly noncompliant with the ADA regulations. At LJSHS, the shelter would also be used as a wrestling room. This would be beneficial as the weight room could use the full space of the room throughout the whole year and the wrestling program could have a space of their own. I don’t have any children or grandchildren attending Lincoln schools, so why should I support a bond that neither I or my family will benefit from? Yes, I can somewhat understand your thoughts on this. Why would you need to pay extra on your taxes when you or your family aren’t getting any benefit from it? Well...first of all you should ask yourself if you care about the future of Lincoln and Lincoln County. There will be a number of students that will remain in the area after graduating high school. Don’t you want the future generations of Lincoln County to go to a school that is safe and provides an environment that will allow for them to become well-educated? Final Comments: If you were to have the same problems that the schools are experiencing in your home, you would fix them - because the problems are things that just have to be fixed. You wouldn’t want to live in a home that isn’t properly heated or air conditioned. You wouldn’t want to come home to an unsafe house with a roof that leaks. Now...after reading this article, if you are still unsure on how to vote in the upcoming bond election, I don’t know what else to tell you. All I have to say is that if you care about our schools and the future generations of Lincoln County, your vote should be a “yes.”
Editorial- Bond Election: what you need to know before you vote - Published Wednesday, April 5, 2017
USD 298 residents are in the process of deciding how to vote on the bond issue. With ballots due at the county clerk’s office in six days, time is running out to make up your mind. We are going to take a look at the bond and the information that needs to be considered for each voter. Cost of the Bond: The USD 298 Bond has been estimated as $3.9 to $4.9 million dollars. We have been told through interviews with school representatives that only the amount needed for the repairs will be spent. Meaning that if all the bids for the repairs come in at $4.1 million dollars (or another amount), that is how much will be spent. Just like when remodeling a house, one would make sure to be able to afford the remodel before beginning. If you have set aside $2,000 dollars for a bathroom remodel and you spend $2,000 dollars on the remodel but find out that the sewer line now needs replaced where do you get the money. Is it better to plan on having extra money in case other costs come up? The Lincoln County Citizens for Responsible Spending (LCCRS) have bought ads in the Sentinel and sent out a mailer describing their plan for school improvements. They are proposing that their bond of $1.5 million would be a better fit for our school and citizens. No one can argue that the amount is better. It would certainly mean less taxes. But does it fix all our issues? When it comes down to how you’re voting though, you should remember that you are voting yes or no on the school’s proposed bond. You’re not voting for if you want to use the LCCRS’s proposed plan. That’s not an option. If this group really wanted to have their plan used or something of the likes, they would have brought it to the attention of the board members at earlier board meetings as the bond discussion started three years ago. It’s too late now. School Finance: Since the beginning of 2012, USD 298 has lost more than $500,000 dollars in school funding because of our state government. With plans to cut over $100,000 dollars in the next few months. This is a common trend in the state and Lincoln is not alone. LES and LJSHS roof repairs: A vote of yes for the bond means that up to $850,000 will be spent to replace and repair both roofs. The bond has allocated $650,000 to replace the LJSHS roof and $200,000 to improve the LES roof. However, a vote of yes does not guarantee that $850,000 will be spent. The total could come to less, but to make sure that the repairs are done properly, that amount of money has been set aside to fix the two roofs. The LCCRS has proposed using a silicone base coating from Progressive Materials, LLC (www.pmsilicone.com) but have not provided an amount needed for this. Can this silicone be sprayed on our roofs right now or does the existing roof need to be removed? The roof repairs are not part of the $1.5 million proposed by the LCCRS group. HVAC Units: The LCCRS has proposed replacing the LES window air conditioners with mini-split heat pump air conditioners for $150,000. These systems are similar to what are in hotel rooms. Would these units have fresh air intakes or do they just recycle the air already in the room? The plan also replaces the HVAC machines at LJSHS that are currently not working but does not replace them all. If an old machine stops working in a year, where does the school get the money to replace it? Do we ask the state government to stop cutting school funding? The USD 298 bond does replace all the units at both buildings and puts in controls in the LES rooms at a maximum cost of $2.25 million. This is quite a bit more money than the other, but everything is replaced. The question you have to answer is do we do it all now or do we just do part now and hope no extra money is needed? Storm Shelters: USD 298’s bond proposal includes the building of two multi-purpose FEMA-rated storm shelters. At LES, the shelter will serve as a cafeteria. A kitchen will also be build on to the shelter; it will include new appliances since LES’s current equipment is outdated. At LJSHS, the shelter will also serve as a wrestling room. Both of the shelters will also include at least one restroom; as if there were to be a tornado, you would need one if you were to be in the shelter for an extended amount of time. The combined cost of these two shelters (including the kitchen at LES and all amenities - electrical, plumbing, etc.) have been estimated at $1.4 million to $1.8 million. The LCCRS has proposed that four factory-direct EF5 rated shelters be installed - one each at LES, LJSHS, the preschool building and the kindergarten building. These shelters would not be multi-purpose and would not have restrooms built into them. Instead of them being multi-purpose, the LCCRS has proposed to construct two separate 60’x60’ buildings - one each at LES and LJSHS. These buildings would serve as the cafeteria (at LES) and wrestling room (at LJSHS); however, new appliances for LES is not included in their proposal. The total cost of these two separate buildings would be less than $250,000, which includes plumbing, electrical, transportation, freight and HVAC. The total cost of the factory direct shelters (not including the shelter at the kindergarten building - as it was not included in the advertisements) would be less than $350,000. Some good questions to think about while comparing the plans on this topic are: how much space is there available to build additions; does there need to be restrooms in the storm shelters - is it required; and do we want to have multi-purpose shelters built in order to avoid unused space? Who’s doing the work: With the USD 298 bond proposal, bids from local businesses and contractors will be taken to complete the projects of the bond. The LCCRS’s plan will not have as much local business involvement. In their proposal, the shelters would be built by Crest Precast, Inc. out of La Crescent, MN. The bidding quotes for their 60’x60’ buildings came from TopLine Steel Buildings out of Wichita, KS. One question that you should ask on this is: Don’t we want to have local businesses and contracters complete the bond projects?
Dylan's Deliberations (Editorial Column):
Take care of yourself - Published Wednesday, October 12, 2016
It has always been bothersome to me how there are many parents that pay for practically everything that their teenager wants. Rather it be gas for their vehicle, insurance for their vehicle, dining out with friends, or even a whole vehicle itself. I don’t know if parents feel that they are obligated to do this or if they’re just trying to be what they think, “helpful.” In my personal opinion, I don’t think that this is helpful at all; the parents are just setting their teenagers up for a cruel future. Teenagers should have to work and make their own money to purchase these wanted items that can truly be lived without. If parents are paying for these sometimes huge expenses, teenagers will never learn what it is like to have to work for them. When they finally go out into the real world, life will hit them hard in the face because they’ll be so used to someone else paying for everything. As a parent, would you really want your child to think that you needed to keep supporting them even after they moved out? I know I wouldn’t. Another thing that I don’t understand about this is how do teenagers not feel guilt from their parents paying for everything? Doesn’t it make you feel bad that they are spending their hard earned money on something that you really should be paying for? The answer...I’ll probably never know. But needless to say, if your parents pay for everything for you, and if you don’t feel any guilt, the least you could do is at least thank them for all that they pay for.
Keep your eyes on the road - Published Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Why is it that people have to take their eyes off the road just because they can’t wait to text someone back? Or look at Twitter? Or take a picture? It’s sad that people in today’s society literally can’t wait to respond to a text, especially when they already know the possible consequences of taking their eyes off the road. If it is so important that you must reply to a text message, you can easily pull over or off the road to do so. You will be doing yourself a huge favor by completing that simple action. Studies show that individuals who drive while sending or reading text messages are 23 percent more likely to be involved in a car crash than other drivers. A crash typically happens within an average of three seconds after a driver is distracted. According to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, texting while driving is six times more likely to cause an auto crash than driving when intoxicated. Everyday, 11 teenagers die because they were texting while driving. This adds up to over 4,000 teenage deaths in a year. Do you really want to be one of those victims? Do you want to be the one that causes so much pain for your friends and family? No parent wants to be informed that their child died in a car crash. Often times people who text while driving have one or more passengers in their vehicle. As the driver of the vehicle, if you are texting while driving, you are not only putting yourself in danger but also those who are in the vehicle with you. In a study, ninety percent of teen drivers said that they would stop texting while driving if a friend asked them to. Seventy-eight percent said that they would most likely not text and drive if they were told that it was wrong by a friend. So, if you catch a friend texting while driving, let them know how you feel about it and ask them to stop. You could very well be saving your life by doing so. If we want to tackle the problem of texting while driving, everyone has to make a difference by starting with themselves.
Schools need help - Published Wednesday, March 1, 2017
In the midst of a Kansas budget crisis, it seems as though our public schools will yet again be on the short end of the stick. Why is this a continuing problem for public schools in Kansas? Why can’t our state senators and representatives find a way to avoid cutting funds from public schools? Why are the future generations of Kansas being punished for the faults of our out of touch governor? We shouldn’t have to be asking these questions in the first place. Now I generally support most Republican political figures as I have conservative values and views, but I just cannot and will not support our governor, Sam Brownback. I feel the same way for legislators that don’t make public education a top priority. Public education gives everyone the opportunity to get an education, no matter who you are or what your background is. An educated society is what our nation has been built on. For rural towns like Lincoln, public education is our backbone; without it, the town would soon dissipate. It provides employment to many people (it’s one of Lincoln’s highest employers). It’s quite depressing that today, public schools across the state of Kansas - both in rural and urban areas - have to start critically deciding how they are going to “survive” if our legislators can’t find a way to adequately fund education. On an even sadder note, the smaller school districts are feeling it the most. Our school district, as well as other small districts, shouldn’t have to be considering a shortened school week, shortened school year or cutting activities and sports. A shortened school week not only hurts students, but hourly employees would feel the hardship as their income would be less than anticipated. It’s just sad that we even have to worry about possibly shortening our school year; and it’s terrible that our district might have to face cutting some of our student’s favorite sports or activities; I know I’ll be extremely upset if any of the activities that I participate in get cut. Some may say that they aren’t necessary, as they aren’t academics; but, extracurriculars can arm students with many of the skills future employers are looking for. It would have been nice if our governor, along with the our state legislators, repealed the small business tax cuts - that were put into place shortly after Brownback was elected - soon after realizing that it was causing problems. I think that this is the prime cause of our state’s billion dollar budget deficit that we are dealing with now. I also think that it’s the prime reason to why our public schools are being cut our fair share of funding. In my opinion, I think that many small businesses would rather have a public school located in their area or county than having a tax reduction. After thinking about all of that, it seems as though public education couldn’t get any worse for us. Yet it just might. Now that Betsy DeVos has been sworn in as the Secretary of Education at the national level, our public schools face even more jeopardy. DeVos, whose had little-to-no experience with public education - or has probably barely stepped foot in a public school, has advocated for traditional school vouchers. If passed, these vouchers would immediately represent a financial attack on public schools across the nation. The first moment these vouchers would go into effect, before a single child leaves a public school, millions of tax dollars would go out of the public system and into private schools. This is sickening to even think about. If we end up taking money out of our public schools and giving it to private schools, I am for sure that there will be many small public schools that will be forced to be shut down. On top of this, it doesn’t even make sense to have our tax dollars be sent to private schools. What would be the point of calling private schools “private” if they were receiving federal money just like public schools? Overall, we have a huge mess going on in the public education world. We all have to stand up for our schools and start seriously thinking about how we are going to solve these problems. We have to contact our senators and representatives at both the state and national level to tell them how we feel about or public schools and how important they are to our students, teachers, staff members and community members because if we don’t, it’s not going to be pretty.
Why can't we just get along? - Published Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Woah...a lot has gone on in the political world since I last wrote for the newspaper. There’s been firings, hirings, tweets, protests, bickering, division, strength, new enemies made of each other, and the list could go on and on and on. As most of you know, I admire the political world and enjoy voicing my opinions on current events. Since I’ve missed out on this over the summer and the first month and a half of school (How has the school year gone this fast?), I’m going to give a brief opinion on some political items that occurred over that time period. I apologize ahead of time if it sounds like I’m just ranting about things. First off, Healthcare Healthcare has been a hot issue over the past four months. Sadly, our congressmen and women have not decided to work together to help create a bipartisan health care plan that will help benefit people on all sides of the spectrum, while still providing good services at lower costs. I will agree that most of the replacements of Obamacare that have been brought up for a vote, weren’t the best options. But I feel that this issue should have been a priority and solved before the end of the summer. Our country deserves better than Obamacare and the ridiculously high premiums that come with it. Second, Trump’s Tweets I understand why Trump is trying to reach out to his supporters by using social media; however, I definitely think he needs to take it down a notch. I think that it looks unprofessional for our own president to be calling out people and organizations with hurtful words. The United States strives to be the best country in the world, and I think those kinds of tweets don’t represent ourselves well. Third, the Bickering between Parties How is our country ever going to get things accomplished when many Republicans and Democrats refuse to work with each other? Now, I respect everyone and their political views; however, I think those who are still upset about how the elections went last year need to move on. I understand why you’re frustrated; but it is what it is. Our country has so many issues to tackle and they aren’t going to be solved if we just stand around and point fingers at each other. Finally, the Questioning of Freedoms in America There’s been a lot of questions going around on who is entitled to the freedoms listed in our nation’s constitution; especially with the first amendment. I fully support all peaceful protests, the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of religion, and the right to petition; EVERYONE who is a citizen of our country is entitled to these freedoms. It doesn’t matter if you’re black, white, latino, asian, gay, straight, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Republican, or Democrat, etc.; you have those rights, and you can use them. It angers me that there are people who support the first amendment for things that they believe in, but not what others believe in. Think about it, do you feel bad when others criticize you for standing up for what you believe in? You should understand that everyone has different views and that it is okay for them to stand up for them.
Why are ACT scores so important? - Published Wednesday, November 8, 2017
The month of November has started. This means that many deadlines are coming upon high school seniors: scholarships, college applications, housing applications, and much more. It’s a stressful season for many students. Today, many colleges and scholarship committees make ACT scores a big part of whether you are accepted into their school or are awarded their scholarship. I find this to be unfair. While ACT scores are designed to serve the certain purpose of showing what you’ve learned in high school, I think that it’s more the matter of how fast can you answer questions. Theoretically, this doesn’t make sense; in life your goal isn’t to get your job done as fast as you can, it’s to get your job done well. The same standards should be held for tests. Just because you can’t finish a test quickly, it doesn’t mean that you don’t know how to answer the questions. ACT scores, in my opinion, do not truly show the ability of who you are as a student and how well you are going to do in college. Instead of making such a big deal about ACT scores, we should start focusing more on the GPAs of students, the activities that they participate in, and their volunteer work. GPAs will better show how a student does in their schoolwork and the amount of time that they devote to it. Looking at activities and volunteer work helps show what students liked to do in their free time. Some students spend countless numbers of hours studying for the ACT - looking through books, spending money on classes, and completing practice tests. Many of them do this because of how much impact your score has on your future. The ACT test shouldn’t be that important and it shouldn’t be such a big deciding factor in how much scholarship money you get. I personally don’t think that an ACT score accurately represents how well of a student you are and what your study habits are like. On the ACT, you may know how to answer most of the questions - you just might not have enough time to complete them all. This is what I think is unfair; If you know the information that is on the ACT, but just don’t have the time, your true level of knowledge is not being represented. Many students that earn the highest scores that you can get on the ACT receive full-paid or near full-paid scholarships. What’s sad about this is that some of those students don’t even complete college; they drop out because they can’t handle their classes. That’s a lot of wasted scholarship money that could have gone to someone who wants to be at college. This is a big reason why I think scholarships shouldn’t be based on your ACT; you won’t necessarily be a good student if your ACT score is perfect. Now overall, I don’t think that the ACT doesn’t have a purpose, I just think that it shouldn’t be so important for scholarships. You should be awarded money for having a good GPA throughout your whole high school career and for participating in leadership and volunteer activities; I think that four years of your high school career should matter more than a four-hour test.
School Funding:
Block-grants cause schools to close early - Published Wednesday, April 22, 2015
On Wednesday March 25, 2015, Kansas Governor, Sam Brownback [R], signed Senate Bill 7. This new bill sets up the new school block-grant funding for the next two fiscal school years. The new bill also repeals the previous 23-year-old school funding system. The Kansas Legislature introduced this bill only 11 days before being signed, as they found that the State was overfunding education. As a result to this new bill, all Kansas School Districts combined will lose $51 million, which would have been used to finish out the current school year. Local School District, USD 240 (Twin Valley), will be losing nearly $40,000 from this current school year’s budget. This large loss in funding is causing the district to let their students out earlier by 12 days on May 8 instead of May 20. USD 240 serves the areas of Tescott and Bennington, and has a combined population of approximately 580 students and 95 certified and classified staff. The Concordia School District (USD 333) will also be bringing their school year to an end earlier than scheduled. They will be letting their students out earlier by six days on May 15 as well as canceling school on April 16 and May 1, the two extra days being cancelled due to a large number of activities that are scheduled. The Concordia School District’s Board of Education (BOE) decided that they would release students earlier due to the district needing to cut between $375,000 and $399,894 for the rest of the current school year. This decision was easier for their Board to make because five of the district’s snow/emergency days weren’t used this school year. As a result from this decision, USD 333 will be saving nearly $25,000. Lincoln School District’s (USD 298) Board of Education At-Large Member, Monty Breneman said, “It is unfortunate that some of the surrounding districts are closing earlier due to the unexpected budget cuts from the Governor. Each district has their budget approved in August and anticipates having the full amount throughout the entire year. Purchases are made, contracts are signed, etc. based upon the approved budget.” A School District near Pratt, Kansas, Skyline School District (USD 438), sent a request to the State to provide them with $118,000. They are asking this due to their loss in funding from the new State financial cuts which will cause their district to struggle to make payroll in the end of June. In the past few years, the Skyline School District has done everything that they can in order to keep the money in their classrooms and to pay their working teachers and staff. For the rest of the current school year, they have frozen all field trips and all expenditures unless they become absolutely necessary. If the State doesn’t provide the Skyline School District with the extraordinary need fund, then they might have to use something called by the name of a No Funds Warrant. This kind of fund is like an emergency loan that they would collect from taxpayers and then pay back over the next few years. As for the Lincoln School District, Breneman said, “Our district has curtailed purchases to help absorb the cut to our 2014-2015 budget. We have been given a projected budget for the next 2 years, but there remain a number of questions regarding exactly what our budget will be. In short, we will be moving forward very cautiously regarding expenditures in the next several months.
House Bill 2504 Causing Mixed Emotions - Published Wednesday, February 10, 2016
The newly proposed Kansas House Bill 2504 is causing people to have some mixed emotions. If the bill were passed, Kansas would go from 286 to 132 school districts, a 53.8% reduction in the number of districts. This would cause the average school district size to increase from 1,719 to 3,724 students. Only 50, or 17.5% of the current 286 school districts would remain unaffected. House Bill 2504 would require counties with fewer than 10,000 students to have a single district. Districts with fewer than 1,500 students in more populous counties would also have to merge. The State says that by passing this bill Kansas will save an estimated $173 million over 10 years. Here are the rules to how The State will reallocate the districts in Kansas:
Find all the districts with enrollment >10,000 a. mark them "More than 10,000" and "Retained" and "Unchanged"
Find Ft. Leavenworth and Innovative School Districts a. mark them "Exempt" and "Retained"
Find all counties with only one district listed a. mark them "Retained" and "Unchanged"
Find all counties with two districts listed and total enrollment across districts < 10,000 a. select larger district - mark "Retained" b. select smaller district - indicate it will "Become Part of" larger district c. *exception for districts marked "Exempt" - they have to be "Retained," but others may "Become Part of"
Find all counties with more than two districts and total enrollment across districts <10,000 a. select larger district - mark "Retained" b. select smaller districts - indicate they all will "Become Part of" larger district c. *exception for districts marked "Exempt" - they have to be "Retained," but others may "Become Part of"
Find all counties with more than two districts and total enrollment across districts >10,000 a. mark any district with enrollment >1,500 as "Retained" b. using district boundaries map and enrollment numbers, combine remaining districts with each other and/or districts already marked "Retained" so that all districts have enrollment >1,500 www.kasb.org 11 January, 2016 c. mark any combined based on location as “Based on Location” d. *exception for districts marked "Exempt" - they have to be "Retained," but others may "Become Part of"
Find any other district marked “Retained” that are not included in the “Become Part of” column a. Mark “Unchanged”
Add enrollments together for merged districts to determine the “New USD Student Enrollment (Headcount)”.
How does school funding work? - Published Wednesday, May 17, 2017
School funding in Kansas is something that many people are confused by. With all of the misconceptions that are developed from groups and the media, lots of opinions are developed. These opinions can make it hard for school districts to explain how school financing actually works in Kansas and how the current system isn’t successful. In this article, I’m going to explain how the current school funding system works, what the future funding system could be, what the most common misconceptions are, what some parents and teachers opinions are, and what our state representatives think of the current school finance system. How does the current school funding system work? In March of 2015, Governor Sam Brownback signed the school block grant funding bill. This was done because Brownback and the state legislature thought that the school funding formula at the time was “too complicated.” So, with the new block grant system, the amount of money that school districts would receive each school year would be based off of the student enrollment from the 2014-15 school year. In the Lincoln school district (USD 298), the yearly amount of money that is received from the state is $2,461,029. This amount of money is strictly for General Fund account. This account is one of three main accounts that USD 298 has; with the Capital Outlay and Contingency Fund accounts being the other two. The General Fund account is an account that is mostly used for the salaries of all classified and certified staff, but is also used for some everyday expenses. Part of the money that USD 298 receives for this account comes from the Local Option Budget (LOB). LOB money is money that comes from taxes. In Kansas, school districts can receive state aid on LOB money; however, USD 298 cannot receive state aid on the money received because the district is considered a wealthy district; this being due to the oil pipeline that runs through the district - which made the district’s assessment go up $11 million. Kansas school district Capital Outlay accounts are accounts that are basically a “bricks and mortar” account. This means that it is money that can be used only on things such as car repairs, buying buses, repairing the roofs, or buying new computers. With the block grant system, school districts are also allowed to pay their custodians with this account. The state legislature allows this to happen because they know that the General Fund account is the only money that school district’s have. Other than the exception of paying custodians, school districts cannot spend money on anything other that something that is “bricks and mortar” related. USD 298’s Contingency Fund account is kind of like a “rainy day” fund and is somewhat like a savings account. $250,000 is put into this account. Unlike the first two accounts mentioned, not all school districts in Kansas have a Contingency Fund; although, with the way the unstable block grant system is set up, it is smart to do so; as you know that your district is going to be cut money. For example, just in the middle of the past year, USD 298 lost $148,000 alone in LOB money due to the court's ruling that the money that the district was receiving was inadequate. Building up the Capital Outlay and Contingency Fund accounts has been hard for USD 298 because of the year-to-year budget cuts. What could the future school funding system be like? The current school block grant system is set to end on June 30; and because the Kansas State Supreme Court yet again ruled that it was an inadequate school funding system, the Kansas legislature has to come up with a new way to fund schools. One funding system that was introduced to the Kansas House of Representatives in March is discussed in House Bill (HB) 2410. If HB 2410 were to pass, USD 298 would lose nearly $114,000 from its General Fund account because of it being based of the student count. Of this $114,000 cut would be a reduction to bilingual state aide, a complete loss of at-risk state aid - which is $135 per student, and a loss of Career Technical Education (CTE) class funding. CTE classes are government funded classes that help prepare students for college or their choice of career. HB 2410 would also reduce the statewide amount of money allowed for transportation by $4.3 million. The passing of HB 2410 would be tough on USD 298 and could create large problems. What are some common misconceptions of school funding in Kansas? First, the amount of money school districts receive...When the block grant system was put into place, Governor Brownback wanted to make it appear as though the state was giving more money to the schools. KPERS is a state retirement pension plan that all classified and certified educational employees have to pay into; it is money that is build into a school district’s budget. The state sends this money to a school district’s account to make it look like they are paying them; however, the money practically instantly goes back to KPERS (the state). LOB money is also messed with. School districts used to collect LOB money, but don’t anymore. Instead, the money is sent to the state where they count it as part of their money. After picking at this amount of money, the state then sends the money back to school district to make it look as though schools are receiving the money, but really aren’t. Second, how school districts receive their funding...Funding payments from the state comes in specific payments. They are payments that are only to be an LOB payment, General Fund payment, Capital Outlay payment, etc. Third, what money can be spent on what...Many people think that all of the money given to the schools can be spent on whatever; but, this isn’t true. When a school district receives their money, they have certain accounts that it is deposited into; accounts where you can only spend it on certain things, and only those certain things. Fourth and Finally, do schools in Kansas have over expenditures...School districts cannot go out and spend extra money on anything that they want to; therefore they can’t have over expenditures. This is why it is tough on school districts when the state makes cuts to their General Fund accounts; the schools have already accounted for the money that they are supposed to receive and then then the state comes in and takes portions of it away. What are some parents and teachers opinions on the current school block grant system? The following are responses from a survey that was sent out to parents and teachers: What are your opinions on the current Kansas school funding formula? Andrea Young- “I believe it needs to be fixed. However, I don't know if anyone in Kansas will ever be happy with how it will be fixed. Schools have already cut so much, but now it's getting to the point where it really affects kids and their opportunities, especially in rural schools such as ours.” Susan Wollesen- “I don't think the block grant is an acceptable way to fund schools. It does not allow flexibility to adapt the budget to meet student needs and student needs fluctuate from year to year, sometimes even within the year. The student body is an ongoing dynamic as students move in and out of the district even during the school year.” Becky McQueen- “I agree with the courts. The legislature has not adequately funded Kansas schools. Anyone who cares about the future of this community and State should be very concerned about the battle that has been waged against public schools.” Melodee Larsen- “Schools are being underfunded.” Jolene Wirth- “I feel that the Governor is wrong in his way of funding schools. Gov. Brownback has placed a lot of education funding on the local government and its citizens. He also takes money back that he has given the districts to use in their budgets. How would you like to figure out a budget, then have someone take the money back that you counted to fund your budget?” What do you think should be done to fix the school funding formula? Andrea Young- “I'm afraid it's going to have to be an increase in taxes.” Susan Wollesen- “A return to the former weighted formula with some adjustments to modernize it. Budget expenses differ greatly among school districts and especially rural compared to urban, and small to large. The weighted formula accounted for these differences in expenses. I also think retirement pensions should be completely eliminated from the school budget formula as this is a State expense for the retirees of the State which includes retired teachers. Our local school has no control over those retirement investments, over the location of the retirees, etc. Therefore, that item as a budget income and expense or "pass through" funding is deceiving for patrons of the district.” Becky McQueen- “Eliminate the tax loopholes and go back to a balanced three-pronged tax structure that will adequately fund vital services.” Melodee Larsen- “The old formula was better than the current.” Jolene Wirth- “Make a formula that is as fair as it can be and find funding for it. A portion of the lottery money was to finance education when we voted for it. How much is going to education...none.” What do our state representatives think about the current school block grant system? The following are responses to questions that were sent to our state representatives via email in mid-March: Do you believe that the current Kansas school funding formula is sufficient? Susan Concannon- “The legislature voted to remove the formula 2 years ago and replace it with a block grant system, with the intent that it would be a bridge to a new formula. The block grant was declared unconstitutional by the Kansas Supreme Court. I did think that the old formula was sufficient for the schools in my district. if it were fully funded. I would like for a new formula to allow more flexibility for use of the funds by the local school boards.” Troy Waymaster- “I do not feel that the current Kansas school funding formula is sufficient and that is one of the reasons why I voted against the block grant funding bill in 2015. The case could have been made then that the former financing formula may needed to have corrections made to it, but we should not have completely discarded the formula that had been in place since 1992. I also voted against the block grant funding because I felt that it was unconstitutional, which was substantiated by the Kansas Supreme Court.” Is the Kansas State House of Representatives working on creating a new school finance plan? Susan Concannon- “The Speaker of the House of Representatives tasked the K-12 Budget Committee with working on a new school formula at the beginning of this session, so we have 2 months of work before the Gannon decision was ever released. I do not serve on that committee, but speak with those serving on it frequently. They have had many hearings and are currently working at putting together proposals for the rest of us to share opinions on. I stay in contact with my district superintendents to learn how different proposals with effect each district.” Troy Waymaster- “Currently, the K-12 Education Budget Committee has been working on crafting a new finance formula because the block grant funding is set to expire on June 30, 2017.”