This article was originally posted 3/26/2019 on SUBV Facebook page
Did your BV-area Representative vote for our kids and our Blue Valley Schools today?
Despite direct opposition from Blue Valley Schools and all other Johnson County School Districts, the Kansas House passed House Sub for SB 16 today - an Education Policy bill that reminds us of the anti-public education sentiments of the Brownback years.
Legislators voting Yes on SB 16 knew full well that Blue Valley Schools did NOT support it due to the bad and unnecessary policy. But still, far-right Blue Valley legislators voted for a bill with multiple policy inclusions BAD for Blue Valley.
What’s bad about SB16? Here are a few things:
- It doesn’t solve the one-and-only problem facing the legislature: adjusting school funding for inflation.
- The bill contains numerous policy provisions that should have gone through the KS House Education POLICY committee (where BV-area Rep. Dr. David Benson is our representative). Unfortunately, Dr. Benson never had the chance to provide input, because legislative extremists intentionally circumvented the process.
- Particularly harmful to Blue Valley, it removes the obligation of the legislature to fund excess special education costs. (KsLeg has never fully met the obligation, but at least it’s currently in the law, and a benchmark used by special education advocates.)
- The bill diverts tax money from public schools to private, often religious, and sometimes even unaccredited schools that do not serve all students equally and have selective admissions.
- House Sub for SB 16 adds numerous unfunded mandates - where will BV get the money for those? How will the district handle administration of these unfunded mandates? (Examples include a statewide bullying-prevention hotline; increased requirements for even more reporting and auditing procedures, when school districts in Kansas already account for how taxpayer dollars are spent.)
- The bill contains a cumbersome, confusing transportation rule that would be virtually impossible to fairly implement, and would require school districts to pick and choose which families would benefit. Large districts like Blue Valley, Shawnee Mission and Olathe would encounter significant logistical hurdles, increased costs, and the need for staff to administer this new rule.
Which BV legislators voted AGAINST our BV schools by voting YES on SB 16?
Rep. Croft
Rep. Lynn
Rep. Ryckman
Rep. Tarwater
Rep. Thomas
Rep. Warren
Which BV legislators voted FOR our schools by voting NO on SB 16?
Rep. Benson
Rep. Holscher
Rep. Kessinger
Rep. Parker
It’s worth noting to our members that if former Blue Valley Representatives Joy Koesten and Patty Markley had been re-elected to the Kansas House, this bill might not have passed. That was the margin - 2 votes.
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