Letters on teacher prosecution bill, lesser prairie chicken, Jerry Moran

SB 56 will harm schools, state

Though the intentions of many state senators in supporting Senate Bill 56 might have been somewhat well-intended, their actions are guaranteed to set off an unanticipated flood of reactions, all of which have negative consequences and spell disaster for Kansas children and the state of education in Kansas in general (“Bill easing prosecution of educators gets Senate’s OK,” Feb. 25 Eagle).

A 35-year veteran of the public school classroom, I have spoken extensively with many accomplished former students, current student teachers, and vibrant, talented young teachers whom I hold in highest esteem, and all of them share their concern about SB 56. Some of those reactions:

▪  Current student teachers plan to seek employment in states other than Kansas. They would much rather seek employment in states where academic freedom is celebrated, and dare I say where the salaries are higher.

▪  Capable high school and college students who wish to pursue education as a profession abandon their hopes of making a difference in the lives of Kansas kids, or move out of state to attend college then teach.

▪  Teachers who become eligible to retire do so immediately; thus, their school districts lose their valuable experienced teachers.

These inevitable scenarios, thanks to the misguided actions of our state legislators, exact a heavy price. The prospect of these reactions should be reason enough to abandon SB 56, and call it what it is – a knee-jerk reaction to an isolated incident and a harmful action against the state and its residents in general.

Spectacular bird

It is depressing to see all the politics surrounding the lesser prairie chicken. My experience with this species spans more than 35 years, and I have seen most of their remaining Kansas habitat, plus much of what little remains in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado. Thank goodness there are still ranchers who care enough to be good stewards of the land and all the life that depends on it, including this spectacular bird.

Yes, the recent drought has sharply reduced remaining lesser prairie chicken populations. But over the long term, there is no doubt that the severely depressed status of this species and its habitats has resulted primarily from the activities of the very same industries that now complain most about the species being listed as threatened.

About 90 percent of the bird’s original habitat is gone, much of the remainder is degraded, and new threats to what is left abound.

Whether the threatened listing is the best approach for the species’ conservation may be unclear. But it would be wise for people not to get caught up in the fearmongering largely proliferated by self-serving lawyers and organizations.

Seems like the chicken really has come home to roost with the same industries that threaten its existence. I hope real conservation of the species won’t be lost in the storm of misinformation and distrust they have created.

A strong voice

Kansans have a strong and in-touch leader serving us today in Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan. A long-standing member of veterans committees, Moran has taken another step in serving our military and veterans through his appointment to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Defense.

I have had the privilege of working with Moran on committees supporting the military in Kansas since 2004 and continue to serve with him on his Military and Veterans Advisory Committee. Veterans of Kansas are lucky to have such an outspoken advocate of their care.

In my seven years as adjutant general of Kansas, serving with the great women and men of the Kansas National Guard and the Division of Emergency Management, there were many occasions when Moran was right beside us – from deployment ceremonies and disaster recovery scenes to opening new training centers that the senator and his staff helped make possible.

With the challenges that today’s military faces with sequestration, a possible base-closure commission, and endless pressure on our force structure, we need a strong voice for Kansas in the nation’s capital. Kansas has such a strong voice with Moran.

This story was originally published March 1, 2015 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Letters on teacher prosecution bill, lesser prairie chicken, Jerry Moran."