Sen. Pat Pettey
State Sen. Pat Pettey, D-6th Dist., stated today that the announcement from the governor about budget cuts to public schools “proved our children’s future is not a priority.”
Sen. Pettey was asked for a reaction to the governor’s announcement. Sen. Pettey, a retired teacher from the Turner Public Schools, stated:
“If anyone was still holding out hope that the governor would not support reducing the state budget on the backs of our Kansas children yesterday proved our children’s future is not a priority. Our Wyandotte County schools are losing nearly $2 million dollars out of their 2015 budget. Our school boards will do everything they can to finish out this school year with as little direct impact on the classroom learning. They cannot continue on this path without the funding the school formula says they should be receiving.
“When the governor blamed the purchase of a piano as taking money from the classroom he was being totally dishonest and he knows it. No capital outlay money can be used for salaries. Replacing an instrument that has been in use for 50 years actually says KCK is very prudent with their money. This is just another example of the efforts being made to blacken the image of Kansas Public Education. Education is the key for students to be career and college ready. It is our state’s constitutional responsibility,” Sen. Pettey stated.
A listing of the budget cuts by the state showed a cut of $1.39 million to the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools; a cut of $250,847 to the Turner Public Schools; a cut of $95,680 to the Piper Public Schools; and a cut of $143,152 to the Bonner Springs Public Schools.
The budget cuts to all Kansas public schools may be seen online at http://budget.ks.gov/files/FY2015/Governor_Allotment_BSAPP_Redux_Calc–02-05-2015.pdf.
Piper High School – basketball vs. Lansing
– Varsity lost 63-74
– Junior varsity won 65-60 (OT)
– 9th won 60-40
– From Doug Key, Piper High School activities director
The first-place winner in the Wyandotte County Spelling Bee Jan. 30 at Turner High School was Riley Wilson, right, of Edwardsville Elementary School. The second-place winner was David Spillman, center, of Turner Elementary; and the third-place winner was Layla Golubski, left, of Junction Elementary. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert) by Mary Rupert
Edwardsville Elementary student Riley Wilson won the Wyandotte County Spelling Bee today at Turner High School.
Riley was the clear winner as all of the other students in the fourth round of the bee misspelled their words.
Riley spelled cabana and then a final word, knavery, correctly to win the annual contest.
Just before her win, Riley was awaiting her turn from her chair in the second row, where she was swinging her legs that did not quite touch the floor. She made quick work of her two words, calmly spelling them correctly to win the championship.
According to her family, Riley practices spelling a lot. She is planning to go on to the Regional Sunflower Spelling Bee March 7 in Hays, Kan.
Leading up to the win, other students in the final round misspelled finale, begonia, dungaree, jackal and prosecute.
Paula Hough, the emcee of the event, told the audience it was the first time in memory that everyone but one student in the final round of the county spelling bee missed their word. The final round of students, minus the winner, was called back to the podium to determine second and third places in a spell-off.
A little conference was held with spelling bee officials including Hough, Susan Reitemeyer, pronouncer, Elly Morris, spelling bee coordinator, and the two judges, Sen. Pat Pettey and Lisa Terrell, to discuss the rules. Then the bee proceeded with the second- and third-place categories.
Turner Elementary’s David Spillman correctly spelled foretell to win second place, while Layla Golubski of Junction Elementary, who correctly spelled corpse, won third place.
Some students battled their stage fright and tried to keep their concentration during the event by spelling out words on their fingers. A few were tapping their toes, shuffling their feet, and holding onto their hands tightly. During a practice round, they became accustomed to the procedures.
The 20 students in the contest were good spellers, as only two missed words in the first round. All of the students were champion spellers from their schools.
Some of the words they missed included cummerbund, totem, hibachi, discipline, saxophone, mahi-mahi, periscope, admiral, manicure, fidelity, and homonym.
Participating in the spelling bee, besides the three winners, were these students who are champions at their schools: Zaynab Zlitni, Bonner Springs Elementary; Jazmin Romo, Delaware Ridge Elementary; Katie Hammons, Robert E. Clark Middle School; Olufemi Furnace, White Church Elementary; Savannah Williams, Central Middle School; Christina Melching, Rosedale Middle School; Barbara Graber, Northwest Magnet School; Madilyn Peters, Arrowhead Middle School; Mason Lofton, Piper East Elementary School; Haili Wisener, Piper Middle School; Andrew (Drew) Collins, Christ the King School; Brennan Schroeder, St. Patrick School; Molly Mahoney, Resurrection Catholic School; Jack Mikel, Sixth Grade Academy (Turner district); Miranda Agustin-Sanchez, Midland Trail Elementary; Mariam Khan, Oak Grove Elementary; and Jocelyn Santos, Turner Middle School. Wyandotte County Spelling Bee champion Riley Wilson of Edwardsville Elementary School was all alone at the podium after spelling her winning word correctly. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert) The championship trophy was presented to Wyandotte County Spelling Bee winner Riley Wilson of Edwardsville Elementary at today’s spelling bee. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert) Before the Wyandotte County Spelling Bee started, champions from individual schools took their places on stage at Turner High School. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert) Before the Wyandotte County Spelling Bee started, champions from individual schools lined up to go on the stage at Turner High School. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert) During a practice round at the Wyandotte County Spelling Bee, Savannah Williams of Central Middle School spelled a word. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert) Mason Lofton of Piper East Elementary School spelled a word during the practice round Jan. 30 at the Wyandotte County Spelling Bee. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert) Mariam Khan of Oak Grove Elementary spelled a word during the practice round at today’s Wyandotte County Spelling Bee. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert) David Spillman, second-place winner in the Wyandotte County Spelling Bee, spelled a word during the practice round at today’s competition. Andrew (Drew) Collins, Christ the King School, in the background, awaits his turn. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert) Wyandotte County Spelling Bee officials and judges conferred about the rules during the spell-off. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
