How did BV-area legislators vote on a bill to give MORE tax money to private schools?
- Stand Up Blue Valley
- 13 hours ago
- 3 min read
How did BV-area legislators vote on a bill to give 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 tax money to private schools, taking it from the state general fund and therefore from public schools and other public functions?
Private schools pick and choose which students they want to take. They aren’t required to meet the needs of students with special needs, including intellectual and physical disabilities or giftedness. They can kick out any kid, for any reason, at any time. They aren’t required to follow any curriculum, nor to have certified teachers, or adhere to any safety measures that public schools do. Private schools often teach religious curriculum and are not required to teach fact-based science and history. They are not required to report test scores and other metrics to the KSDE. 𝗡𝗢 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗱𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 (an often-cited claim).
Public schools are the backbone of our community and of our country. Public schools function to educate every student. Blue Valley Schools serves thousands of students with special needs that private schools are not able to meet. Our opposition is not to private schools; it is to funding those private (many religious, some for-profit) schools with TAX money meant for PUBLIC USE.
Blue Valley School Board members have held a legislative position for years opposing public funding of private schools. They’ve publicly shared this position with legislators and met with them to explain their reasoning. Additionally, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳-𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘴𝘓𝘦𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘕𝘖𝘛 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 - read more at link below.
Yet, each and every year, some Kansas legislators want Kansas taxpayers’ money to fund exclusive, religious, private enterprises. They vote to spend your tax money to line the pockets of “Scholarship Granting Organizations” (link below for more info).
The Kansas House voted Thurs., Feb. 12 on HB 2468, which would double the limit of total allowed credits - increasing it from $10 million to $20 million. The measure passed the House 70 to 49 and was referred to the Senate Committee on Education.
𝗩𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗘𝗦: 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀:
Chris Croft
Chip VanHouden
Sean Tarwater
Carl Turner
𝗩𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗢: 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀:
Linda Featherston
Mari-Lynn Poskin
Heather Meyer
Dan Osman
Nikki McDonald
Use the link below to contact your Kansas Rep and thank them if they voted NO on this voucher scheme; let them know you oppose their vote if they voted YES. Why, now that the bill has passed? The vote was not veto-proof. If the bill makes it to Gov. Kelly and is vetoed, we want to encourage those who voted NO to do so again, in case of a veto override attempt.
ALSO at that link find your KS Senate member and email them your opposition to tax money going to private schools. Why? This bill, or another voucher scheme, may end up in the Senate for a vote.
Find your KS Representative and KS Senate member and their email address:
Read more about this anti-public education scheme, and about “Scholarship granting Organizations”:
Read more about impacts to all students when SpEd isn’t fully funded:
Official vote count https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/vote_view/je_20260212111607_777031/
Read HB 2468:
