Education Data Collected But Not Shared to Inform Policymaking
Would you purchase a refrigerator without comparing models and reading reviews? How about buying a car without a test drive or a home without an inspection?
If you’re a taxpayer or parent of a school-age child in Kansas, that’s what your elected representatives have done with public education that spends more than half of the state’s [...]
Special Education Funding Shows How Feds Control State Dollars
The Kansas Legislature added $21.2 million for special education to the 2011 state budget because the U.S. Department of Education’s rules say it had to, or the state would lose millions in future funding.
The tactic is intended to ensure “Maintenance of Effort” but amounts to a threat to special education students and teachers because they’re [...]
Truth Emerging on Unencumbered K-12 Education Funds
What could Kansas do with an extra $743 million? That’s a question legislators and the governor-elect want answered.
Kansas K-12 schools had $1.567 billion in unencumbered or carryover cash on July 1 and as much as $743 million of it could be made available for discretionary spending by school districts, according to state government research.
Those numbers, [...]
Full Comprehension Not Required for K-12 Proficiency
According to a recent press release from the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE), statewide assessment results for students in Kansas public schools show a 10-year improvement trend. KSDE says the 2010 assessment tests show 86.3 percent of students performed well enough to be counted proficient, 83.1 percent in math.
But just what does that mean?
Under [...]
Bond Savings to Be Spent, Not Used to Pay Down Debt
Wichita school district officials will spend surplus bond funds rather than cut taxes.
Contractors are bidding below district projections for construction projects funded by the 2008 USD259 bond only 51 percent of voters approved.
It authorized the district to spend “an amount not to exceed $370 million” on a broad range or projects. So far, contracts for [...]
Kansas
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