Letters to the editor on elections, recent commentary and park spending
Andover schools
We are grateful to have been a part of the Andover Community since 1982. We have raised two children in Andover and we now have grandchildren who attend our schools.
As parents, we served in a variety of volunteer roles at the building and district level. We chaired the bond campaign for the “new” Andover Middle School. 25 years ago we helped establish the Foundation for Andover Schools — an organization which to date has given over $1.5 million dollars to Andover classrooms and has an endowment of over $1 million dollars for future generations.
We are committed to Andover schools and have a vested interest in its future. It is vitally important to elect quality school board leaders who will work together to keep Andover schools strong. Please vote on or before November 2 for Sonia Cox, Jill Hodge and Josh Wells.
Wichita BOE
On Nov. 2 Wichitans will vote in an election that may have some historical significance for all the wrong reasons. This year there is a pack of four school board candidates all selected by Sedgwick County Republican Party chairman David Thorne. They are running as a group in an effort to become the majority on the USD 259 Board of Education. One of these candidates, Brent Davis, has proposed dividing students into masked and unmasked groups in order to conduct experiments on them and observe the results. Not only is this illegal but extremely dangerous.
School board elections are supposed to be nonpartisan events; so why is Mr. Thorne selecting four Republican candidates and what is his ultimate goal? These candidates are running under the slogan of “your conservative voice for USD # 259.” Whose interests do they represent? Obviously not those of students, faculty or staff. I have not always agreed with decisions made by our board but right now they need our support. Julie Hedrick, Mia Turner, Ben Blankley and Ron Rosales have navigated their way through a pandemic; they have had to deal with mask and vaccination issues, and they have been confronted by parents who have whined, complained and even threatened them. These incumbents have worked through incredibly difficult circumstances and should be re-elected.
Franko commentary
And just when you thought the blustery winds of Kansas might be subsiding, the Kansas Policy Institute’s James Franko blows in (Oct. 28 Eagle). What happened to Dave Trabert?
Franko begins his editorial by sending shivers down the spines of right wingers by invoking the letters CRT. Critical Race Theory, around for more than 40 years, is accurate, well taught history. We should not fear it, we should learn from it, raise questions and debate, think about it, that’s democracy isn’t it? If Franko hasn’t scared you yet, he throws in Common Core and No Child Left Behind as other terrifying notions. Franko asserts he loves lots of teachers, but that they are laboring in a “system that doesn’t work for many kids”. What is the solution? Since 90% of school age students attend a public school, the solution would involve making the public school system better, right? No. Franko sees “learning pods” and that “Public school teachers could start their own school in a flourishing environment of micro-schools and educational choice.” What is he talking about, what does this mean, how will it help? For the KPI it always means private schools where the teaching can be entirely biased and sanitized.
Park rebuilding
I find it very interesting that the city can find and allocate $1.7 million to rebuild the Chester I. Lewis park in downtown Wichita. What’s wrong with the old design? Why not allocate some of this money, if not all, to expanding Senior Services in the city of Wichita? Or allocate some of the money to homeless projects within the city of Wichita.