Kansas views on school funding, child welfare, transparency, water, ‘uncomfortable’ at college
School funding – The more things have changed of late with school funding, the worse the forecast has become for poorer, rural school districts in particular, and the communities they serve. The goal for all should be fairness in funding. But based on economic pursuits from far-right lawmakers in Topeka, such fairness may as well be a fairy tale – unfortunately enough for a state that should value strong public schools, regardless of their locale.
Child welfare – The child protection system in Kansas is due for a top-to-bottom examination. The number of children under state care is at an all-time high, creating a shortage of qualified foster homes. Child advocates worry about high turnover among caseworkers. Law enforcement groups say a state-operated hotline to deal quickly with situations involving at-risk children isn’t always answered, and caseworkers and supervisors are often hard to reach. In July, a legislative committee voted down a request for a comprehensive audit of the foster care system. But some kind of review is badly needed.
Transparency – The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit journalism organization, recently released a report that showed it had given Kansas a failing grade on the subject of transparency. In fact, it ranked Kansas 43rd among 50 states. Few should have been surprised by the ranking. What else could have been expected of a state where some legislators openly say the Kansas Open Meetings Act is unduly restrictive and high-ranking state officials use private e-mail accounts to avoid the Kansas Open Records Act?
Water – Gov. Sam Brownback richly deserves his pounding for mismanaging the state’s finances and for not expanding Medicaid. But he also deserves recognition for raising the level of concern in preserving the state’s water. It’s really way past time to get serious.
‘Uncomfortable’ – During recent discussions about diversity at the University of Kansas, much has been said about students being “uncomfortable.” It’s not OK for students to be made to feel uncomfortable because of who they are, but it’s arguably necessary for them to face issues that could make them uncomfortable.
This story was originally published December 6, 2015 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Kansas views on school funding, child welfare, transparency, water, ‘uncomfortable’ at college."