Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

As outlined by the Kansas Constitution, the Legislature MUST adequately fund education services. Since 2012, there has been a steady stream of assaults on this basic function of the Kansas government by extremist legislators and the governor. As someone who holds a degree in education from Emporia State University and has grandchildren in public schools, this is unacceptable. The Brownback tax cuts have led to freezes in funding, supply shortages in classrooms, and bigger class sizes, which mean more difficult learning environments for students and teachers. Through it all, however, the Blue Valley and Shawnee Mission districts' students continue to excel. Why are we making it more difficult for them to do so? Teacher and parents know more about what their child needs in order to be successful, not legislators. This is why I am a firm believer in local control of schools.

Not only do we have the obligation to fund K-12 education, but our state is blessed with seven excellent public universities. These universities and the graduates they produce add millions of dollars annually to our state's economy. For example, according to the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR), it is estimated the KBOR system produced approximately $7.3 billion in overall impacts, $3.4 billion in wages and salary impact, 95,327 additional jobs, and $485 million in state and local tax collections in the year 2010. In terms of the rate of return, $1 in state tax support resulted in $11.94 in economic activity. If we invest in higher education, aspiring entrepreneurs, engineers, teachers, agronomists and professionals will flock to Kansas schools from neighboring states, all because of the lower tuition that can be afforded with more public funding.

If you give me your vote on August 2nd, I will work to protect the funding of our schools and universities!

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