Gov. Laura Kelly signed a bill today that will fully fund education. Several legislators and education advocates attended the signing, including Rep. Valdenia Winn, standing, center. (Photo courtesy of Gov. Laura Kelly’s office)
Gov. Laura Kelly today signed legislation to fully fund education for the third consecutive year.
She was joined at a signing ceremony by education advocates and a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
“When I took office, the state of Kansas had failed to fully fund our public schools for nearly a decade,” Gov. Kelly said. “That’s why today I’m proud to say that, for the third year in a row, I have signed bipartisan legislation fully funding our schools.
“I want to thank the coalition of legislative colleagues, advocates, teachers, and faculty for their advocacy. With their support, we followed through on our commitment to ensure students, teachers, and schools have the resources they need.”
During the signing ceremony, Governor Kelly said that ensuring kids have access to a quality education is good for Kansas students, and for the state’s economy.
“Ensuring kids have access to a quality education not only helps them succeed. It helps our businesses succeed and promotes economic development by providing employers with a highly-educated, skilled workforce,” Gov. Kelly said.
In addition to fully funding education in Kansas, House Bill 2134 requires an annual report card for children in foster care, authorizes limited remote learning, provides the criteria for identification of students eligible to receive at-risk programs and services, requires boards of education to allocate sufficient school district moneys to improve student academic performance, authorizes school districts to pay tuition and fees for concurrent and dual enrollment programs, expands student eligibility under the tax credit for low income students scholarship program, extends the high-density at-risk weighting, and provides ACT college entrance exams and workkey assessments to certain nonpublic school students.
Gov. Kelly also signed House Bill 2313, extending the dedicated statewide mill-levy which funds a portion of the overall K-12 budget.
HB 2313 also provides for reimbursement of property taxes for certain business shutdowns or restrictions, allows Kansas national guard and reservist members who are in good standing to receive a property tax exemption for up to two motor vehicles, authorizes appointment by the governor of a member pro tempore when a vacancy on the state board of tax appeals exists and directs post audit study of the impact of nonprofit and governmental entities competing against for-profit businesses.
Rain is possible Monday and Tuesday in Wyandotte County, with a 20 percent chance of rain this afternoon, and an 80 percent chance of rain on Tuesday. (National Weather Service graphic)From 1 to 1.5 inches of rain is possible from Monday through Friday. (National Weather Service graphic)
Spotty showers are expected Monday in Wyandotte County, according to the National Weather Service.
More rain is expected through late this week, the weather service said.
Some storms may be strong this week, with more information available closer to the time of the storms, according to the weather service. At this time it appears that strong storms are possible Wednesday evening and Wednesday night, with heavy rain possible.
Periods of moderate to heavy rain are possible through the work week ahead, the weather service said. Local creeks and streams are expected to rise with the heavy rainfall.
Friday and Saturday do not have rain in the forecast at this time, according to the weather service.
The rivers in Wyandotte County currently are well below flood and action stage.
Today, there is a 20 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms after 1 p.m., the weather service said. The high will be near 80 with a south wind of 8 to 14 mph, gusting as high as 20 mph.
Tonight, there is a 40 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms, mainly after 1 a.m., according to the weather service. The low will be around 67 with a south wind of 10 to 13 mph.
Tuesday, there is an 80 percent chance of rain and possibly a thunderstorm. The high will be near 80 with a south southwest wind of 10 to 14 mph, gusting as high as 18 mph. Less than a tenth of an inch of rain is possible.
Tuesday night, there is a 70 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms likely before 10 p.m., then rain likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m., followed by rain and thunderstorms after 1 a.m., according to the weather service. The low will be around 65 with a south southwest wind of 5 to 9 mph becoming light southwest after midnight. Between a quarter and half-inch of rain is possible.
Wednesday, there is a 20 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms, with a high near 85, the weather service said. A calm wind will become southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday night, there is a 50 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms, mainly after 1 a.m., according to the weather service. The low will be around 68. Between a tenth and quarter-inch of rain is possible.
Thursday, there is an 80 percent chance of rain and possibly a thunderstorm, the weather service said. The high will be near 81.
Thursday night, there is a 50 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms, with a low of 58, according to the weather service.
Friday, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 72, the weather service said.
Friday night, it will be partly cloudy, with a low of 56, according to the weather service.
Saturday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 77, the weather service said.
Saturday night, there is a 30 percent chance of rain, with a low of 59, according to the weather service.
Sunday, there is a 40 percent chance of rain, with a high near 77, the weather service said.
Free walk-in COVID-19 vaccinations will be available for everyone 12 and older from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday, May 24, at the former Kmart store at 7836 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, and the former Best Buy store at 10500 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas. People also can schedule vaccinations at WycoVaccines.org.
The Kansas National Guard Armory location will be closed on Monday.
Those who receive vaccinations are asked to consider bringing an ID to make the process go faster.
The Health Department is doing more mobile vaccinations, and people may request vaccines to be given at different sites in the community by going to WycoVaccines.org and clicking on “mobile vaccine request.” People also may request a ride to vaccination sites on the same page.
UG Health Department vaccinations are now open to people from other counties and states. People may walk in for vaccinations or can schedule them.
Those who wish to schedule an appointment may use the Health Department’s self-scheduling tool at WycoVaccines.org and click on a blue button that says, “Click here to schedule an appointment online.” The page is available in Spanish by clicking at the top of the page. Walk-in appointments also are welcome.
Those who don’t have an internet connection may call 3-1-1 or 913-573-5311 for assistance in scheduling their vaccination appointment time and date. To see more information about Health Department vaccinations and next week’s schedule, visit WycoVaccines.org.
Other sites available for vaccinations
Vaccinations at KU Health System are open to the public. Current patients may use MyChart to make an appointment. Others may call 913-588-1227 or visit kansashealthsystem.com/vaccine to make an appointment to get vaccinated. KU Health System currently is vaccinating residents of Kansas and Missouri who are 12 or older, by appointment only. Those under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian throughout the appointment.
There are also pharmacies giving free COVID-19 vaccinations in Wyandotte County by appointment, when available. These include Price Chopper and Hen House pharmacies, which are now also accepting walk-in vaccinations or appointments, and are starting vaccinations for age 12 and up at those pharmacies that are giving Pfizer vaccine (see https://www.ballsfoodspharmacy.com/).
CVS has announced walk-in appointments for COVID-19 vaccine at some of its stores. Those interested in getting a vaccination at a CVS pharmacy are asked to visit a CVS website in order to make sure there is vaccine available. The website is at www.cvs.com/. Walgreens and Walmart also were listed on www.vaccines.gov as giving vaccinations.
Other pharmacies and sites giving vaccines are listed at www.vaccines.gov.
Case numbers reported
Wyandotte County reported an increase of 14 COVID-19 cases on Friday, May 21, for a cumulative 18,687 cases, according to the Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 webpage. There was a cumulative total of 292 deaths reported, no change. The numbers were not updated Saturday and Sunday. The UG Health Department reported on Wednesday that 31.44 percent of Wyandotte County residents, or 52,015, have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. About 26.08 percent, or 43,148, were fully vaccinated. Of Wyandotte County residents age 12 and up, 38.7 percent had at least one dose.
The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 173,642 cumulative COVID-19 cases. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 52.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 312,997 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Kansas on Friday, May 21, an increase of 406 cases since Wednesday, May 19. There were a total cumulative 5,057 deaths reported statewide, an increase of four. Johnson County had a cumulative 58,961 cases on Friday, an increase of 97 since Wednesday, according to the KDHE. Leavenworth County had a cumulative 7,243 cases on Wednesday, an increase of five since Wednesday. Sedgwick County had a cumulative 57,079 cases on Friday, an increase of 119 since Wednesday.
The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Sunday night reported 33,117,656 cumulative COVID-19 cases in the United States, with 589,893 total deaths reported nationwide. There were 19,778 new cases nationwide and 480 new deaths nationwide. States with rising numbers of new cases were Florida, 3,406; New York 1,329; Pennsylvania, 1,236; Michigan, 1,206; and Illinois, 1,109. Countries with rising numbers of new cases were India, 240,842; Brazil, 76,490; Argentina, 32,171; U.S., 19,778; and Colombia, 18,737.
Free testing available Monday
Free COVID-19 testing will be available from 8 a.m. to noon Monday, May 24, at the Oak Ridge Baptist Church, 9301 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas. Testing is in conjunction with the Wyandotte Health Equity Task Force. Appointments are not needed.
Free COVID-19 testing also will be offered from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday, May 24, at the former Kmart store at 7836 State Ave. and at the former Best Buy at 10500 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas. Appointments are not needed. The National Guard Armory testing site will be closed on Monday. For more information, about UG Health Department COVID-19 testing sites and hours, visit https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19. To see if there is any change to the schedule, visit https://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept. Appointments are not needed.
One of the WellHealth sites for free COVID-19 testing is open beginning at 8 a.m. Monday, May 24, at Lowe’s at 6920 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. Appointments are required. For more information, to see other testing sites and to make an appointment, visit https://www.gogettested.com/kansas.
