Partisan differences shown at legislative meeting

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opinion column
by Murrel Bland

State Sen. Steve Fitzgerald (R-Fifth Dist.) admitted that he wasn’t very comfortable being outnumbered by three Democrats.

Sen. Fitzgerald was the lone Republican on a legislative panel that made presentations Friday, April 8 at a meeting of the Legislative Committee of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce at the Community College. About 30 persons attended.

Sen. Fitzgerald, a conservative who is considered an ally of Gov. Sam Brownback, explained his support of House Bill 2655 that addresses equitable funding for school districts. Both the Kansas House and Senate approved the bill; Gov. Brownback signed the bill into law Thursday, April 7.

The bill, which had overwhelming Republican support, uses a formula that reduces state aid to most of the state’s 286 school districts and then redistributes funds back to districts making certain that no district sees a reduction. Overall funding was flat.

Democrats including those on the panel—State Reps. Tom Burroughs (33rd Dist.), Kathy Wolfe Moore (36th Dist.) and State Sen. Pat Pettey (Sixth Dist.) —were critical of the bill. That is consistent with Democrat leadership in the Legislature that has said the bill will allow wealthier school districts, such as Blue Valley, to raise property taxes to increase school budgets. That would put the Kansas City, Kan., School District at a disadvantage as it has substantially less of a tax base.

Rep. Burroughs, who is the minority leader in the Kansas House, agreed that the bill means that rich districts will get richer and poorer districts will get poorer.

The action will shift to the Kansas Supreme Court who will begin to review the law on Tuesday, May 10, with oral arguments. The court has said that if it does not approve the new financing law by June 30, the schools could be shut down.

Sen. Fitzgerald said that five of the Supreme Court judges are up for retention this year. He said this could be a factor in their decision. The five are Lawton Nuss (Chief Judge), Marla Luckert, Carol Beier, Daniel Biles and Caleb Stegall.

Sen. Fitzgerald sponsored a bill that would reopen The Woodlands to horse racing. It has passed the Senate and now needs approval in the House. The bill would change the amount of the wagering revenue that The Woodlands could keep. Those affiliated with Hollywood Casino said such a provision violates the development agreement that it has with the state of Kansas and the Unified Government. A direct mail card accuses Phil Ruffin, the owner of The Woodlands, of not having a development agreement with The Unified Government. The mailer also said if The Woodlands reopens, it would threaten jobs at Hollywood and annual contributions that go to charities.

Sen. Fitzgerald said that horse racing benefits several persons across the state of Kansas and would bring people with money to spend to Wyandotte County. He said Hollywood Casino would benefit.

Rep. Moore said she is neutral on whether or not to support The Woodlands. She did say, however, that before she could support The Woodlands, she would have to see a development agreement that would benefit the Unified Government.

The panel did agree on one measure that had bi-partisan support—a new juvenile justice law. This would allow for young nonviolent offenders to be directed to community-based programs rather than being jailed with hardened criminals. The economics of this new law make sense. It costs about $90,000 a year to keep a person in prison; a community based program could cost as little as $5,000 annually.

Legislators will return to Topeka Monday, April 25, after a spring recess.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is executive director of Business West.

KCKCC softball home Tuesday, Wednesday after winless road tour

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

Steineger Field will look awfully good to Kansas City Kansas Community College’s softball team when the Lady Blue Devils return to Jayhawk Conference action there against Allen County Tuesday at 2 p.m.

The Blue Devils ran into some hard-throwing Jayhawk pitchers over the weekend as they dropped 9-0 and 8-3 decisions at Cowley College in Arkansas City Friday and 5-0 and 9-3 at Independence Saturday.

The losses left the Blue Devils 17-12 heading into a doubleheader at Haskell University today. In addition to the home twin bill with Allen County Tuesday, KCKCC also will be host to Maple Woods Wednesday at 2 and 4 p.m.

The Blue Devils were held to just one hit, a third inning single by pitcher Brittany Gustin, in the 5-inning 9-0 loss at Cowley Friday. Gustin gave up 10 hits but only four of the nine Cowley runs were earned due to four Blue Devil errors.

KCKCC also contributed to its 8-3 downfall in the nightcap with five errors which contributed to four unearned runs. Morgan Oroke, and Geena Harris and Kaylynn Stratton each had two hits in a 9-hit KCKCC attack. The Blue Devils scored twice in the fifth after singles by Amy-Grace Wilson and Stratton and got an RBI double from Stratton in the seventh.

Indy blanked KCKCC on six hits including two by Kennedy Rassmussin in Saturday’s 5-0 opening loss. The Lady Pirates scored an unearned run for a 1-0 lead in the third and added three more runs in the fourth on four hits and a miscue.

A bases-loaded double by Mekayla Foskett that scored all three base runners was the one KCKCC bright spot in the 9-3 nightcap loss. Foskett also had a single for two of KCKCC’s five hits. Indy jumped to a 4-0 lead on five hits in the first, then added two more runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

Piper results

Piper High School – track at Basehor-Linwood
– Boys 2nd place and Girls 4th place
– 1st place
o Alex Moran – 100 and 200m dash
o Emmett Lockridge – triple jump
o Micaiah Noel – shot put
– 2nd place
o Christine Ibeagi – 100m hurdles
o Zoe Surprise – pole vault
o Daviance Covington – 100 and 200m dash
o Dalton White – 110m hurdles
o Bryant Rogers – high jump
o JJ Letcher – long jump
o Boys 4x800m relay – Jesse McCollum, Khayree Barnes, Ronin Richardson, Hunter Turley
– 3rd place
o Talia Simmons – 100m dash
o Shaylee Kane – 300m hurdles
o Christine Ibeagi – high jump
o JJ Letcher – 200m dash
o Brendan Smith – 400m dash
o Girls 4x800m relay – Brianna Andrade, Shelby Rome, Taran Kerst, Jalen Zwart
o Boys 4x100m relay – Devon Marshall, Daviance Covington, Brendan Smith, JJ Letcher
Piper High School – music at DeSoto (regionals)
– 1 rating (outstanding and have advanced to state)
o Josie Jones Tuba Solo
o Pierce Green Tenor Sax Solo
o Patricia Telthorst Flute Solo
o Brass with Class (Brass Quintet)
 Drew Novak- Trumpet, Brooklynn Lamberd – Trumpet, Jana Zeeb –Horn, Chasney Banner –Euphonium, and Josie Jones – Tuba
o Anissa Brantley
o Corey Mann
o Alexis Myers
o Alena Riley
o Keelon Vann
o Isaia Wilcoxen
o Bella Voce
o Music-n-Motion Ladies
o Music-n-Motion Men

– From Doug Key, Piper High School activities director