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Do the Right Thing for Kansas Students Fully Fund Kansas Public Schools

KNEA President Christy Levings called a news conference on the first day of the Special Session to urge state lawmakers to do the right thing for Kansas students.

"There are fewer than 60 days until the start of school. We have 466,000 students whose education depends on state lawmakers' ability to behave responsibly, to come back to Topeka and to do the right thing in a timely fashion," Christy Levings said. "Schools need real, long-term solutions for school funding."

Accompanying her were teachers from across the state who visited with state lawmakers about the needs of students in their classrooms and the funding needs of Kansas public schools.

"Kansas teachers are encouraging state lawmakers to do the job right and get on the road to fully funding our public schools," Levings said. "With full funding we will be better able to offer quality programs that meet the needs of every child across Kansas, regardless of where that child lives," she added. "There is ample evidence that providing a first-class education produces long-term economic growth and gives individuals the tools they need to lead fuller, richer lives."

Levings said fully funding public schools is long over-due. Among the many pressing needs, Levings advocated for the following:

• Restoring cuts in programs caused by inadequate funding. This means lowering class size and concentrating on programs that close the achievement gaps.
• Protecting school quality by addressing the retention and recruitment of quality teachers. Levings shared new results of the NEA's 2004 Rankings & Estimates which show Kansas average teacher salaries dropped from 41st to 44th in the nation. Kansas teacher salary growth over the last ten years ranks 50th.
• Addressing the crisis in health care. KNEA wants health care to be provided to all education employees at least at the same level of all other state employees.

In answering questions, Levings urged legislators to do the right thing by honoring the Kansas Constitution and get the job done right by providing a long-term solution to funding Kansas public schools.

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