Johnson County (KS) parents see a growing threat to public schools

[pstokely]

"When Jessica Nance and husband Brian Rood jumped the state line into Johnson County at the close of the 20th century, the political atmosphere over public schooling was different from what Kansans know today.

Schools were the big draw, everyone in the suburban county knew. K-12 education funding wasn’t the worry it has become.

“If people think we’re living here for any other reason, they’re confused. It’s the schools,” said Nance, of Overland Park, who has two children attending Trailwood Elementary.

Last week Nance and other parents could only watch as state lawmakers wrestled over ways to keep schools across Kansas from running out of money this summer.

A proposed legislative solution was reached, but for some Johnson County families the long view remains troubling: Top-quality schools that many once took for granted seem more imperiled with each new emergency in Topeka.
"

"In the past several years since Kansas conservatives stepped up efforts to cut taxes and deride schools for being inefficient, Evan’s mother, Judith Deedy, has become more politically active than she ever wished to be.

“I hate politics, truly,” said Deedy, whose family moved into Mission Hills in 2004. A Yale University-trained lawyer from Illinois, she paid no attention to the legislative goings-on in Kansas until a few years ago when she and other concerned parents launched Game On for Kansas Schools.


Originating out of Belinder, the advocacy group has 11,000 Facebook followers. Kids of the parents who lead the group represent more than two dozen area schools.

“I knew people at Yale who went to Shawnee Mission schools,” Deedy said. “We knew the school district by its reputation. We didn’t look at the state’s tax rates.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article68457672.html#storylink=cpy

[BillZBubb]

1. What the "F" did they expect electing then re-electing Brownback?

"What's the matter with Kansas?" indeed.

[hfojvt]

6. to be fair

the total for JoCo was 92,000 for Davis and 94,000 for Brownback and 5,000 for the Libertarian. They didn't vote for him by much.

I cannot blame it all on the Governor though. The other question would be, the party affiliation of their legislators? I am seeing perhaps 7 Republican State Senators from JoCo (or nearby). The two Democrats from Kansas City are probably Wyandotte County.

[Hortensis]

12. Kansas is home of Kochs, who intend to abolish public education.

It is hardly surprising that Kansas' Governor is extremist conservative, legislature is extremist conservative, schools are severely underfunded, and teachers are disempowered. The Kochs and others like them have been operating secretly and behind many different innocent-sounding front groups and charitable organizations across the nation for decades, but no one state more than the Kochs' Kansas.

[hfojvt]

14. Well I only moved here in 2001

My name happens to be Koch. But there's only one of me.

As soon as I moved here, the state elected a Democrat in 2002, and re-elected her in 2006. Unfortunately, Obama tapped her to be Secretary of HHS, leaving a huge hole in the state party, especially since her Lt. Governor, a former head of the state Republican Party (who I actually grew to like (sort of - his tax increase, which I supported, has turned into a bit of a Trojan Horse)) was too chickenshit to run for re-election against Brownback. The KDP got crushed in the Kansas Electoral Massacre of 2010.

I might also mention that in 2006, our Congressional delegation was 2 R and 2 D. Unfortunately, Boyda lost in my district in 2008. Then the other one, after five terms, came down with early stage Alzheimers and the party still has not found another JoCo Democrat who can win in that district. In the 11th hour, the incumbent's wife ran for the spot - and got crushed in 2010.

Then the Governor basically purged the Republican Party of moderates. A bunch of conservative from the house ran against the moderates in the Senate, won in the primaries and also won in the general.

If only Daschle had known how to do his taxes, we could be telling a different story. Sebelius could not legally run for Governor again, but she could have been a strong candidate for the Senate seat vacated by Brownback (and she might have beaten Brownback even if he hadn't vacated) and having a strong Senate candidate would have made the whole party stronger. So Obama really decaptiated the Kansas Democratic Party more effectively than the Killer Bees had ever been able to manage.

[Hortensis]

17. Oh please. I am so sick of the

"America is destroying the world, Democrats are destroying the world, Liberals are destroying the world, Obama is destroying the world" singsong. Given the similarities between the two, this relentless negativism is not more disgusting coming from the far left than relentless hostility is from the far right. They both are incompatible with progress.

"The big difference between the far left and the far right is the far-right hates everyone who is not like them and the far left hates themselves." Someone whose name I'd have to look up.

We should all put this on butcher paper and mount iton our wall: "It's the conservatives stupid!"

[hfojvt]

18. that isn't what I said

by making Sebelius Secretary of HHS, Obama basically took the star point guard from our team, and we had a very weak bench. Without that star to carry us and motivate the voters and the team, we got crushed.

If Daschle or ANYBODY else, like even the current secretary of HHS could have become Secretary of HHS, then we could have a Democratic Senator from Kansas right now - maybe. There are no guarantees. Obviously Kathleen decided being Secretary was a better bet than trying for Senator. And with a strong candidate leading the ticket, the whole party would have done better in 2010.

[KamaAina]

21. He did the same thing to Arizona with Janet Napolitano

and put a Senate seat in Mass. at risk with John Kerry. Fortunately, Elizabeth Warren was there to save us from Scott "Code" Brown.

[hfojvt]

23. well Senate seats are less at risk in Mass

than in other places.

At least one would expect. Didn't we lose a seat in Illinois too?

Sad how even our victory turns into defeat.

One good thing about George W. Bush was that because of him Wisconsin finally got rid of their Governor for Life - Duke Tommy Thompson. But then six years later and they seem to be stuck with Walker Wisconsin Ranger. At least Kansas has an excuse - we are supposed to be a Red State. What is the matter with Wisconsin?

[KamaAina]

25. Brown had already won that seat

after Ted Kennedy died. They also have a repuke governor, although he appears to be walking upright.

[Hortensis]

22. I was reacting to ignoring the Kochs, et ilk, to criticize Obama and other Democrats.

Sorry if I distorted what you were saying in the process. I understand the Kochs spend a great deal of money trying to convince the people of Kansas what great guys they really are and how very good they are for Kansas.

As for the argument you make, I don't know enough to have a real opinion on what could have happened in that senate race. However I strongly believe that Obama and the Democratic Party, national and state, DSCC, etc., would have done everything and anything legal to elect a Democratic senator from "ruby red" Kansas. (Have they ever had one?) That being the case I suspect the concensuses would have been somewhat different in those various war rooms. In your place, I would also have been sad to lose our best chance anyway, even if the end was implicit in the beginning.

[hfojvt]

24. I never ignore the Kochs

since that is my family. That is who I have been for 54 years today - one of the Kochs.

The proper phrase is Koch Billionaires to distinguish them from the many decent people who also happen to have the name Koch

I also thought maybe Koch Billionaires could be shortened to KB's but then also lengthened again to Killer Bees. Which could then also include somebody like Kansas Brownback.

[hibbing]

2. Thank you sir, may I have another? n/t

[SheilaT]

3. We moved to Johnson County, Kansas in 1991,

and made a point of buying a home in the Shawnee Mission School District. It was at the time far and away the best district in the state. But in the early 90's, funding for that district, and the other excellent districts in Johnson County was cut, mainly because the poorer districts simply could not stand it that taxpayers in JOCO were willing to pay more money for good schools. So one of the things they cut back on was the local option.

It got worse. For reasons that had totally to do with my own kids, and nothing to do with the still excellent Shawnee Mission School District, about five years later I moved my sons to a secular private school (The Barstow School for those of you who know the area) and more than once got into arguments with parents in the parking lot of the private school because I did not feel that I should be exempt from penny one of school taxes just because my kids weren't in the local public school.

For a very long time businesses were happy to locate to Johnson County, Kansas, because they knew there was a pool of well educated young people because of those good public schools. I suspect that now there's a lot less of that going around.

I moved from Kansas to New Mexico in 2008, after a divorce, and as much as I love NM, there are huge problems with the public school here. Part of it is funding, part is parent commitment. While I'm still happy to pay taxes to the local schools, I'm glad I don't have kids in these particular schools.

[Skittles]

4. love how it never mentions REPUBLICANS

[elleng]

5. Good to see.

Maybe Kansans will do similar things as businesses in Georgia, who say they're leaving due to inappropriate policies re: LGBT.

[Wounded Bear]

7. Where have they been?

Public schools have been under attack for several decades.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

8. "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." Derek Bok

A bit about Derek Bok ...

Derek Curtis Bok (born March 22, 1930) is an American lawyer and educator. He was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and graduated from Stanford University (B.A., 1951) and Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1954). He taught law at Harvard from 1958, where he served as dean of the law school (1968-1971) and then as university president (1971-1991). As of 2004, Bok continues to teach at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Read more at http://quotationsbook.com/quote/20271/#AjLkjiCiOAZvolg5.99

[greymattermom]

9. Higher education in Kansas has the same problems

and this will be a big problem for business. I lived in Kansas for almost 30 years and now live in Georgia. Georgia has excellent private education for the rich and an outstanding state higher education system, including Georgia Tech. There's nothing like that in Kansas to attract business, and the major universities in Kansas are not close enough to any of the cities. None of my children live in Kansas anymore. Denver is booming.

[pstokely]

10. the main kU campus in Lawrence is less than an hour away from KC

and the med center campus is just over the state line in KCK, but K-State is 2 hours away from KC (being a Mizzou fan I can't capitalize the k in kU )

[greymattermom]

13. Know that all too well

but how many business people in Kansas City go to Lawrence for extra training? Maybe they go to the Regents' center, but what business needs in Kansas City is more likely found at UMKC.

[hfojvt]

15. well in 2008

Kansas spent 12.1% of its budget on higher education, compared to 8.4% for Georgia.

89.7% of the population was high school graduates compared to 83.9% for Georgia and 29.5% had a college degree compared to 27.5% for Georgia.

[dembotoz]

16. i was a vista at an alternative school in kck in the mid 70s. Johnson county was considered heaven

by those in my neighborhood.
the schools were ghastly in kck.

i would have hoped that the kck school would have improved more towards johnson county than the other way around.

the culture shock between kcmo and kck was always there....kansas was just strange to me.
Some in vista would put down roots in an area after the year was up. Me not so much

[REP]

19. Wyandotte Co is still one of the poorest counties in Kansas

KCK is in Wyandotte Co; Shawnee Mission, Prairie Village, etc are in Johnson Co, which is one of the richest counties in the nation.

Johnson Co benefited from "white flight" from KCMO in the 60s; KC's schools never recovered. All the KC schools I attended K-12 are now closed and in private hands; at the time, those were considered the best schools in the district. At one time, long long ago, my high school had been one of the best in the nation, public or private.

[0rganism]

20. time to get in on the ground floor with prestigious Koch Elementary Inc.

seriously, what do you expect when your state hands the tax system and checkbook to a bunch of tea party nutcases? go private or go home, if you still have a home.