Candor too rare on federal spending, K-12 funding

According to the ads and mailers, President Obama is to blame for everything that’s wrong in Washington, D.C., and Gov. Sam Brownback and Statehouse Republicans were moved by their love of public schools to approve more funding last spring. So it was nice to read about some candor to the contrary expressed at a recent forum in Augusta, reported by the Butler County Times-Gazette. Speaking about federal spending, U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Wichita, said: “This is not a Barack Obama problem. This problem has existed for 60 years no matter who has controlled Congress or resided in the White House.” And when asked whether state lawmakers would have funded schools as they have without the districts’ lawsuit, state Rep. Virgil Peck, R-Tyro, said: “No, I don’t think the Legislature would have put in as much without the lawsuit. And a lot of other things wouldn’t have happened without that lawsuit.” – Rhonda Holman

This story was originally published October 21, 2014 at 7:05 PM.