I received an email a few days ago from John J. Jurcyk, a lawyer, saying that O.L. Plucker had died. Jurcyk received the message from Ruth Kent, Plucker’s longtime secretary. He was 92.
Plucker served as superintendent of the Kansas City, Kan., School District from 1962 until 1986. I had much respect and admiration for Plucker as an administrator and a community leader. I usually agreed with him on most issues.
However, I do recall one disagreement that resulted in a heated conversation in 1977. We both served on the executive committee of the Kansas City, Kan., Area Chamber of Commerce; we met monthly for breakfast at the Terrace Club atop the New Brotherhood Building to take care of chamber business.
That meeting was on a Wednesday morning. On the day before, I received a letter from Plucker that upset me. I had written an editorial opposing the federal desegregation plan. What caused me to oppose it was the one-way busing of black children for racial balance.
Plucker knew that my daughter would attend kindergarten that fall. He suggested that her mother and I would want to send her not to a nearby school that was predominantly white (Claude Huyck) but to a predominantly black school in the northeast part of town — Benjamin Banneker.
I was upset — not that Plucker disagreed with me — but that he involved my child as part of the disagreement. The conversation occurred at the end of the chamber meeting; it digressed into little more than a shouting match.
Two of the chamber board members at the meeting were rather outspoken men — Bill Little, the chamber president, and Cliff Nesselorde, a banker and a chamber officer. They and others quickly left when the shouting began.
Plucker and I sat and discussed the desegregation issue — and several other matters — for at least an hour. We shook hands at the end of the meeting; I don’t recall that we ever had any other serious disagreements.
Plucker was an excellent superintendent. But I believe his greatest contribution to the community was leading a committee that changed the form of city government from a patronage-riddled commission to a mayor-council-administrator form. I was privileged to serve on that committee during most of 1981.
The issue to change the form of city government was put on the primary election ballot in August of 1982; it passed by a slim margin of less than 100 votes as I recall. The victory was seen as a turning point that broke the stranglehold that hack politicians had on City Hall.
It was Plucker’s political expertise along with Bill Little’s fund-raising capability that assured the issue was successful. If that change in city government had not occurred, it would not have been possible to consolidate city and county government in 1997.
In the early 1980s, the Boss Lady (Carol Bland), a former elementary and junior high teacher, served on a voluntary committee that studied a proposal to change to a middle school attendance plan. I recall that the Boss Lady asked me what to expect.
I told her that Plucker will run the meeting and provide much written information about middle schools. He will lead you through the process and you will believe that the conclusion (favoring middle schools) was the group’s idea, I said. That was what happened.
I recall having a conversation I had with former Mayor Joe McDowell about my work on the change of government study committee.
“You know, O.L. Plucker is the smartest person to ever hit this town,” McDowell said. I agreed.
Services for Orvin Lowell Plucker will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 18, at the Old Mission United Methodist Church, 5519 State Park Rd., Fairway. Memorial contribution to the church or Cross-Lines Community Outreach, 736 Shawnee Ave., are suggested.
Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is the executive director of Business West.
Rep. Stan Frownfelter This week under the Dome
This week was a short, but eventful, week in the Kansas Legislature. We spent all day Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday on the House floor debating and passing almost 30 pieces of legislation. Thursday and Friday were reserved for conference committee meetings where appointed members of the House and of the Senate met to work bills that had been passed by both chambers.
Governor signs block grant bill
This week Gov. Brownback signed a bill that eliminates the school finance formula and allocates a block grant to school districts for the 2016 and 2017 school year. Our schools are already underfunded, and this bill on exacerbates the problem by removing necessary weightings. When the bill was debated in the House, I voted ‘no’ because Kansas students deserve a quality education.
The legislature must now decide on a new school finance formula. The Senate Education Committee held hearings this week to discuss a new formula that would begin in 2018 with a base of $3,820 per pupil, $32 less than the current base state aid per pupil.
The formula then includes supplemental aids based on poverty, pensions, equalization, enrollment, and success. The success portion would require districts to keep track of where students are two years after graduation. If passed, the formula would be tested in six school districts during the 2015-2016 school year. There is still a lot unknown about this bill, and with just a week left of regular session, there is not enough time to thoroughly vet a new school finance formula.
Budget
The Senate passed a budget bill Wednesday that will now come to the House to be debated. This two-year budget:
• Allocates $3 million to an efficiency study for state government by outside consultants yet to be determined.
• Cuts to Regents institutions including the University of Kansas ($9.4 million) and Kansas State University ($7.2 million).
• Changes the comprehensive grants formula to take away from scholarship money available to students of public universities.
• Does not include additional funding for the KU Medical Center in Wichita.
The budget, as proposed, cannot be financed by the state because of the revenue shortfall caused by the governor’s failed economic experiment. This budget will not balance, and because the state cannot deficit spend the only way the budget can be sustained is through new taxes.
Political patronage
One of the pieces of legislation that passed the House this week was HB 2391, which changes protections for state employees from classified to at-will. I voted no. Changing their classified status risks reverting state employment practices to a political patronage system rather than a merit based system. The state deserves the best possible employees, regardless of their political affiliation or beliefs. The bill will now be referred to the Senate for further debate.
Eliminating conceal carry permits
One of the more controversial bills passed this week would remove Kansas’ permit requirement for individuals carrying a concealed firearm. The state’s permit process includes training and an extensive application and background check. The requirements ensure that certain core public safety standards are preserved when people are carrying hidden, loaded guns in public places. As a proponent of the Second Amendment I am in favor of common sense gun laws, but allowing anyone to carry a gun without adequate training or a background check threatens the safety of our communities. The bill will now go the governor for his signature.
Reducing unemployment insurance
This week the House passed SB 154, a bill that reduces a business’ contribution to the unemployment fund by limiting the maximum unemployment insurance benefit available to a Kansas worker to $474 a week. I voted no. Kansas has a moral obligation to support its citizens when they fall on hard times, and this bill abandons that obligation by prioritizing business’ profits over the needs of Kansas families. As a result unemployed workers will receive less and the Employment Security Trust Fund will be depleted by more than $165 million over the next year. Such a reduction in the fund exposes Kansas to financial distress in the event of an economic crisis.
KPERS bonding
The House voted this week to bond $1.5 billion of the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System (KPERS) indebtedness. The bill is part of Gov. Brownback’s plan to fill the budget deficit, but only is only a one-time revenue source. I voted NO because borrowing and creating new debt to cover old debt is not fiscally responsible and does not resolve the state’s systemic revenue shortfall. Kansas will inevitably have to invest more money to meet its obligations to future retirees. Additionally, lowering the actuarial liability threatens the solvency of the system. It is time that Kansas makes common sense fiscal policies a priority.
Keep in touch
It is a special honor to serve as your state representative. I value and need your input on the various issues facing state government. Please feel free to contact me with your comments and questions. My office address is Room 174-W, 300 SW 10th, Topeka, KS 66612. You can reach me at 785-296-7691 or call the legislative hotline at 1-800-432-3924 to leave a message for me. Additionally, you can e-mail me at [email protected]. You can also follow the legislative session online at www.kslegislature.org.
Sen. Pat Pettey
As always, it is an honor to represent District 6 in the Kansas Senate. If I can be of service to you or anyone you know, call my office at 785-296-7375, or email me at [email protected] or feel free to visit me in 125-E at the Kansas statehouse.
In this issue:
• Senate passes budget
• Governor signs block grant bill
• Proposed school finance formula
• Eliminating conceal carry permit
This is the last week before first adjournment of the 2015 session. They have changed the start of the veto session to April 29. That gives the budget committees more time to work through the new revenue estimates and finalize things.
Senate passes budget
Last week the Senate passed a budget for the 2016 and 2017 fiscal years. HB 2135 spends over $6.4 billion each of the next two years. This was about $70 million more in spending than the governor requested. However, revenues are projected to be $5.8 billion. If you look at the Senate budget on paper, it shows an ending balance of $72 million for 2016 and $164 million for 2017. But that’s all smoke and mirrors.
The budget they passed includes $400-$500 million of new revenues that have not yet been approved. It includes fees charged to medical providers that are not approved yet. It does not include the fact that we are $38 million behind projected revenues for this year and revenues continue to decline. It shows income from KPERS bonding that is not yet approved and overstated at that.
The budget also includes hundreds of millions of dollars of “one-time” fixes like borrowing from KDOT. The bottom line is the budget passed is not sustainable or constitutional.
Here are some budget details:
Both the House and Senate start with the governor’s recommendations from back in January and make their own adjustments. Each house passes a budget then they conference to work out the differences. Here are some items from the Senate bill:
• They cut funding for K-State by over $3 million and KU by over $4 million. Pittsburg State gets an extra $1 million for its school of transportation and Ft. Hays gets $16 million for a new Institute of Applied Technology building.
• Major changes are made to the comprehensive grant program that provides $16 million in scholarships to Kansas students. Today $8 million goes to students attending private universities in Kansas and $8 million to students attending public universities. In the Senate budget, $13.3 million goes to private university students and $2.4 million to public university students. Here is how many public university scholarships will be lost: 915 at K-State; 880 at KU; 560 at Wichita State; 245 at Washburn University; 260 at Emporia State; 315 each at Ft. Hays and Pittsburg.
• They cut the Children’s Initiatives Fund by about $5 million, mostly in the area of reading programs.
• The Senate added $3 million to hire a consultant to do a study on how to make state government more efficient. There was an amendment to remove that study funding, with opponents saying we have had other studies we ignored. The money stayed in the budget.
Added $4.3 million for Hepatitis C medications for Medicaid patients. One of the key factors in the budget it trying to figure out Medicaid caseload growth and how to fund care.
What’s next? Why should you care?
I wanted you to know the “big picture” about the Senate budget (that is, it is out of balance and unsustainable) because here is what could happen next. The House has its own budget bill, but can choose just to adopt the Senate budget by a “vote to concur” and not debate its own budget. That vote could happen early this week.
The problem is that the House has some things in its budget that the Senate doesn’t and vice versa. For example, Gov. Brownback introduced a program a couple of years ago to give school districts funding for providing training in high school for technical trade certifications. Thousands of students have participated in this program and school districts have been growing the program to help students be career and college ready. This money was scrapped in the Senate budget, but kept in the House budget. They should have to confer and agree on the best path, not just take the easy way out with a budget that cannot be sustained.
Another issue is the funding of the judiciary. The Senate budget includes no funding for the judiciary, hoping they can bully the judiciary into voting against public education to keep its funding. The budget should reflect our priorities, and this one does not.
Governor signs block grant bill
Gov. Brownback signed a bill last week that eliminates the school finance formula and allocates a block grant to school districts for the 2016 and 2017 school year. My Senate district encompasses all or part of 5 school districts. Here is how they are negatively impacted for the 2014-15 school year:
Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools, USD 500- $1.9 million dollars less
Turner District 202- $339,000 dollars less
Piper District 203- $340,000 dollars less
Shawnee Mission District 512- $1.2 million dollars less
Bonner Springs District 204- $83,000 dollars less
They all will have a greater impact in the next two years as the district’s needs grow. Our schools are already underfunded and this bill exacerbates the problem by removing necessary weightings.
Want to get active?
There are a couple of groups trying to raise awareness by having grassroots rallies at the Capitol this week.
• Game on for Kansas Schools did a 60-mile walk from Kansas City to Topeka to bring awareness to the school funding issue. There was a rally Monday, March 30, at the Capitol. A dozen people made the 66-mile walk from Merriam to the Capitol starting on Friday. Over 75 Kansans joined them in Topeka on Monday. You can check them out at Game on for Kansas Schools.org or like them on Facebook.
• Kansas Action for Children, KNEA, Citizens for the Arts, Women for Kansas and several other organizations gathered at the capitol on Wednesday, April 1, to bring awareness to the state revenue situation. There was a rally in the capitol. They want to bring awareness to the impact of falling revenues on the state. See http://www.khi.org/news/article/kansans-rally-for-repeal-of-brownback-tax-cuts.
Proposed school finance formula
The Senate Education Committee held hearings two days last week on a proposed school finance formula introduced by Sen. Steve Abrams, R-Arkansas City. Senate Bill 294 relies on a per-pupil-based funding system with funding starting at $3,820 for each student. This is $32 less than the current base state aid per pupil. The formula then includes supplemental aids based on poverty, sparsity, pensions, equalization, enrollment, and success. The success portion would require districts to keep track of where students are two years after graduation. Many criticized the current formula for being too complicated, but this bill takes that concern to a new height.
If passed, the formula would be applied to the six innovative districts for the 2015-2016 school year. Then, it would apply to 100 school districts selected by the State Board of Education for the 2016-2017 school year. By the third year, it would be implemented for every district in the state.
There is still a lot unknown about this bill, and with just a week left of regular session, there is not enough time to thoroughly vet a new school finance formula.
Eliminating conceal carry permits
One of the more controversial bills passed last week would remove Kansas’ permit requirements for individuals carrying a concealed firearm. the state’s permit process includes training and an extensive application and background check. The requirements ensure that certain core public safety standards are preserved when people are carrying hidden, loaded guns in public places. As a proponent of the Second Amendment, I am in favor of common sense gun laws, but allowing anyone to carry a gun without adequate training or a background check threatens the safety of our communities. The bill will now go to the governor for his signature.
