Letters on school funding, Brownback’s executive order, Kobach

Not credible on school funding

It comes as no surprise that Mike O’Neal and Dave Trabert think that the public schools should lose as much funding as possible (“School-funding opinion ignored rulings, facts,” July 9 Opinion). They quibble with the findings of a three-judge panel from Shawnee County District Court, drop a line about the achievement gap widening, claim schools actually admit to inefficient spending, and end with the old saw about not solving problems by throwing money at problems.

They know what they don’t like; they just don’t know what would improve things in an equitable manner.

Consider the expertise these gentlemen bring to the discussion. Trabert is a lobbyist for the Kansas Policy Institute, a Koch “think tank,” hardly unbiased no matter your political alignment. O’Neal, besides being president of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, has a revealing past. While Kansas House speaker, he forwarded an e-mail calling first lady Michelle Obama “Mrs. YoMama” and comparing her to the Grinch. He also wrote an e-mail citing Psalm 109:8 in regard to President Obama: “Let his days be few; and let another take his office.” The next verse is, “May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.”

Because of their particular intolerance, partisan views and slant, they are the least able to speak credibly about anyone else ignoring rulings and facts.

Whole truth

I am tired of hearing about there not being enough money for education. All we hear from the media, especially “fact finders,” is that education money cuts are the problems. Now we can’t hire teachers.

Salaries are not the only reason for a shortage of teachers. Teachers do not have control of classes anymore. Students have more rights than teachers. Some teachers will work for less money in the private schools. This is never discussed.

According to 2013 U.S. Census data, Kansas school funding was $9,828 per student. The national average was $10,700 per student. Our graduation rate for the 2012-13 school year was 85.7 percent, with an average 2014 SAT score of 1753.

New York state paid $19,818 per student in 2013 and had a 76.8 percent graduation rate and an SAT average score of 1468. Washington, D.C., paid $17,953 per student with a 62.3 percent graduation rate and SAT average of 1309. Utah paid $6,555 per student with an average 83 percent graduation rate and SAT average of 1690.

Don’t use the higher cost-of-living argument. I looked at it. Let’s have a truthful discussion, because more money is not the answer.

Free to disobey

Am I now free to obey or disobey any law that I choose based upon my deeply held religious beliefs? What if I am an atheist with deeply held personal beliefs?

Gov. Sam Brownback has, I fear, opened himself up to many lawsuits with his unnecessary, prejudicial and discriminatory executive order, which among other things favors religion over the laws of the state. However, I like his executive order, because it implies I can pick and choose the laws I wish to follow, and can’t be prosecuted so long as I have personal and deeply held religious beliefs.

Choose liberty

You can either have “religious freedoms” or you can have liberty. You cannot have both and expect that to work as the Constitution planned.

Had the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the right of anyone to marry whomever he or she pleased, that would have given considerably more power to the state by taking a basic right away from everyone – even those supporters of such a decision.

Wisely, the court justices, or at least some of them, chose liberty.

The fact that our governor has chosen a path away from liberty really is irrelevant. In a few years he will be gone, but the court’s decision will not, and that is what is important to remember.

Right-wing Christians quote the Bible’s condemnation of homosexuality, yet fail to remember their own belief that sin is in the world because God gave us free will, and that is what the court recognized in its landmark decision. Though the churches are spiritual, our government is still very much secular, and the Constitution’s framers meant it to be that way. Otherwise they never would have written, “they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Rampant fraud?

Our secretary of state will now prosecute the five cases of suspected voter fraud out of millions of votes cast. Is this the “rampant voter fraud” that has caused thousands of elderly, lifetime Kansas voters to have to obtain IDs in order to continue to exercise their right to vote as they have done their whole lives? Is this what we pay a secretary of state to do? If that is all his job is, I think we can do away with that office.

Reaching out

God bless Alan Kailer for the work he does volunteering to repair bicycles for the homeless (July 6 Local & State). I am sure glad he picked Wichita to retire. More of us should find time in our busy schedules to reach out and help our less fortunate fellow man.

This story was originally published July 13, 2015 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Letters on school funding, Brownback’s executive order, Kobach."