Category: Education

Senate approves three nominees to Kansas Board of Regents after unprecedented scrutiny

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Bipartisan majorities in the Kansas Senate voted Wednesday to confirm three nominees to the Kansas Board of Regents recommended by Gov. Laura Kelly.

The process of considering nominations of former BNSF Railway executive Carl Ice, retired Kansas City, Kansas, school superintendent Cynthia Lane and former banker and state Sen. Wint Winter took on an unusually high level of political intrigue as some GOP lawmakers sought to derail Kelly’s picks of Lane and Winter to the state board with oversight of more than 30 public universities, community colleges and technical colleges.

The Senate Education Committee conducted an extensive evaluation of the nominees despite a unanimous vote of support last year by the interim Senate Confirmation Committee. The three nominees had been participating fully in Board of Regents meetings for months.

Sen. Molly Baumgardner, a Louisburg Republican and chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, said evidence raised in the extended process resulted in a recommendation Ice be confirmed. She said the other nominees — Winter and Lane — were forwarded to the Senate without a recommendation because some lawmakers were convinced the nominees hadn’t been sufficiently transparent in answers to 44 written questions and a series of additional oral inquiries.

“They did have a fair hearing,” Baumgardner said. “It is up to this body to assure that the nomination process and the appointment process isn’t perfunctory.”

Sen. Gene Suellentrop, R-Wichita, urged senators unwilling to vote against a nominee to consider passing on the Board of Regents nominations. That same tactic could be relied upon by senators not 100% convinced in viability of a nominee, he said. If there were enough passing and no votes to block nominees, he said, Kelly would be forced to come back to the Senate with new picks for the Board of Regents.

Ice won unanimous support from the Senate with a 38-0 vote. The margin for Winter was 24-9, while Lane was confirmed 23-11. Four Republican senators passed on Winter and Lane. Two GOP senators were absent.

Before the votes, Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, delivered a speech endorsing each of the governor’s nominees for the Board of Regents.

“Having active and engaged members of this board will help in planning and oversight of secondary education in Kansas,” Francisco said. “I would be remiss if I didn’t specifically express my support for Senator Wint Winter. He was a member of the Kansas Senate for 10 years and did a good job.”

During the Senate Education Committee hearings, questions were raised by GOP lawmakers about political allegiances of the individuals selected by the Democratic governor. They quizzed Winter about his opposition to re-election of then-Gov. Sam Brownback, while Lane was questioned about her involvement in a school-finance lawsuit that led to a finding the Legislature’s approach to funding K-12 public schools was unconstitutional.

The political dimension of the Senate’s consideration of the nominees was unusual given that three of six members of the Board of Regents, aside from the three just confirmed, previously served in the Legislature.

In addition, Brownback selected Helen Van Etten, who served as Republican National Committeewoman, to serve on the board in 2013 at the same time she served in that high-level Republican Party position.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/03/02/senate-approves-three-nominees-to-kansas-board-of-regents-after-unprecedented-scrutiny/

KCK student graduates from Missouri State

Ayuana Jackson, Kansas City, Kansas, has graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education, English, from Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri.

Missouri State awarded 1,509 degrees to students in fall 2021.

The public university system has a goal to develop fully educated persons with a focus on ethical leadership, cultural competence and community engagement.

Johnson County teachers push back against avalanche of K-12 education reform bills

Educators argue political intrusion undermines public schools

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Olathe — Prairie Trail Middle School teacher Kelly Ruiz despairs about the bundle of bills under consideration by the Kansas Legislature based on the premise of educational malfeasance in K-12 public schools.

Republican House and Senate members have demonstrated interest in shifting more public tax dollars to private schools, highlighting struggles of public school students during the COVID-19 pandemic, denouncing teachers for allegedly advancing critical race theory, raising the possibility to labeling as offensive or removing library materials, weakening student vaccination programs, imposing broad mandates on publication of curriculum materials to an online database and imposing a parental bill of rights.

“We have to stop the legislation,” Ruiz said during a forum Saturday in Olathe. “It undermines what we do in the classroom. It disrespects and disregards us as professionals. Trust us. We know what saves kids. We know what inspires kids.”

Rep. Kristey Williams, a Republican who chairs the House K-12 Education Budget Committee, and Sen. Molly Baumgardner, the Republican chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, have been working on the bulk of bills some educators find objectionable. Much of that legislative agenda is expected to be considered by lawmakers during the second half of the annual session that starts Tuesday.

“There is one central question that I try to circle back to when considering importing policy as chair of the House’s K-12 Education Budget Committee: What is best for kids?” Williams said. “With that central theme of kids first, or kids before systems, our committee has heard four bills providing more school choice, both public and private choices.”

In the November school board elections in Johnson County, issues of critical race theory, mask mandates during the pandemic and transparency of school district officials were prominent themes raised by candidates and disgruntled parents.

Annie Goodson, a Blue Valley West High School teacher, said during the forum she was concerned about willingness of young teachers to stick with education careers given challenges posed by COVID-19 and eagerness of politicians to leave a heavy footprint on an education system in Kansas serving about 500,000 students.

“They’re entering a pretty hostile atmosphere right now,” Goodson said.

Olathe third-grade teacher Jeremie Tharp, who is in her 18th year as an educator, said assertions public school teachers were lazy, biased or in the profession to indoctrinate children were wrong.

She said she’d sacrificed parts of her own young family — a third-grade son and sixth-grade daughter — to place her in a better position to impact the lives of students at Pleasant Ridge Elementary. At times, she said, it’s not clear she has the stamina to push through to the next year.

Tharp keeps a “smile file” of notes from parents and students that document how she made a difference even when things didn’t go as planned.

“It is where Hudson told me I am his most favorite teacher of all, and Everly said that every day when she walks into class, the thing she likes most is me. It’s where Maggie wrote that in my classroom is the only place she feels like she is home and can rest, and Avery told me I was her best friend.”

Matthew Shulman, a social studies teacher at Blue Valley Northwest High School, said the quest of some politicians to be confrontational with public school educators would result in quality people turning away from the profession or prompting experienced teachers to resign.

“Instead of pushing people away,” he said, “we need to somehow find a way to support our teachers.”

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/02/27/johnson-county-teachers-push-back-against-avalanche-of-k-12-education-reform-bills/.