Print edition: 
Plant closing —It's hard to gauge the extent of damage from losing the Hawker Beechcraft manufacturing plant in Salina. But there's no doubt it is far-reaching. This closure means a loss of nearly 240 of the best-paying jobs in Salina. According to government reports, the average annual earnings for Kansas aircraft workers outside of Wichita is $53,004, including both entry-level and management employees. By the time doors close on Hawker Beechcraft operations, $12.6 million in payroll will be lost from Salina and surrounding communities. We estimate a similar amount has disappeared already since the plant started losing workers a year or so ago. At one time employment was up to 500. Those losses are a big blow to local economies, no matter how one looks at it.— Salina Journal
Education cuts — It is exasperating to hear the men and women who were elected to do the most good for the greatest number of Kansans swear by all that's holy that taking money away from the public schools is the first thing that should be done to deal with shrinking tax revenues. This mantra has been chanted ad nauseam at every session since state balances began to fall early in Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' administration. Education is the most important function of state government. It should be the last to feel the budget cutter's ax. Rather than look for ways to put the children of Kansas first, far too many of our legislators appear to be taking a perverse pleasure in the prospect of taking back some of the money the Kansas Supreme Court decision forced them to appropriate to bring the state's schools up to "adequate." — Iola Register
School lawsuit — The decisions by the Hutchinson and Buhler school boards to support and spend money on possible litigation against the state is regrettable. Both school boards voted unanimously to join the Schools for Fair Funding coalition. School district administration and board members deserve credit for doing what they think they must do to protect a high level of education for their students. But they are not being too understanding about the fiscal environment. The nation is in the worst recession since the Great Depression. The state of Kansas simply doesn't have the money. K-12 education has been spared pain relative to other state agencies. We suppose that school district leaders think the state should raise taxes to get revenue flowing to public education. But a severe recession is the worst time to do that. We need to stimulate the economy, not exacerbate the recession, and raising taxes aggressively would be irresponsible of state lawmakers.— Hutchinson News
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It may be satisfying for school districts to stomp their feet and threaten another lawsuit, but a little patience may be in order. Gov. Mark Parkinson is asking the districts to delay any action until the state economy has a chance to recover, and that seems like a reasonable request. Both the state and local school districts have better ways to spend their money right now than on an expensive court battle.— Lawrence Journal-World
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There are only two options for the Legislature to pursue if this lawsuit succeeds: Cut funding even more to every other state-funded agency or program, or raise taxes even higher. Neither scenario sounds appealing to us. —Hays Daily News
