July State Board News
In this month's news
Don't Forget the Primary Elections!
August 3 is the date for primary elections for State Board of Education seats
2, 4, 6, 8, and 10. Remember to vote! KNEA members will receive a special issue
of KNEA Issues that includes information about the candidates and voting recommendations.
History/Government Standards Controversy Continues
State Board members continue to disagree about fundamental philosophical
differences in language of standards for civics-government and geography.
The writing committee returned this month with recommendations
that were based on input from individual State Board members at
the June meeting. They stated that they preferred their original
wording, but could live with the revisions they suggested.
The revisions were requested by Board member Steve Abrams, district
10, Arkansas City, but at this month's meeting, other members, including
Iris Van Meter, John Bacon, and Connie Morris, indicated that they
agreed with Abrams' requests.
Those revisions would have removed phrases including "other
nations," "democratic process," and "our interconnected
world" from the standards.
Following over an hour of discussion, the Board asked Bill Wagnon,
district 4, Topeka and Abrams to meet with the writing committee
to see if they could find common ground regarding language for the
standards.
The topic will return to the State Board agenda in August.
Preliminary Budget Request Formulated
With budgets due to the Governor in early September, the State
Board gave preliminary hints about their "enhancement"
budget request at the July meeting. This is the "wish list"
budget that each state agency is required to submit. The Division
of the Budget also requires each agency to submit 5% reduction and
current level (status quo) budgets.
The majority of State Board members indicated that they could recommend
about 6% in total increased funding. Most of that would come in
base state aid per pupil, which they believe should rise by $181
to $4,044 per pupil. They also support raising the special education
excess cost amount to 90% of bsapp.
In addition, they indicated support for a $10m line item that would
target K-3 reading and mathematics literacy. That amount had originally
been included in the bsapp (which would have made the increase $200).
Board members indicated a preference to target the money so that
they could be sure it would be used for these purposes, not any
other.
The Board will take a formal vote on the budget proposal at their August meeting.
In other action, the State Board:
Approved revisions to the Charter School petition evaluation rubric that would
add a section on creativity/innovation.
Approved recommendations from the Professional Practices Commission to deny
two license requests.
Approved QPA waivers for
o USD 202, Oak Grove elementary, adjust cycle
o USD 212, Northern Valley Schools, composition of on-site teams
o USD 259, 10 schools, composition of on-site teams
o USD 458, Glenwood Ridge elementary, adjust cycle
Approved recommendations from the Licensure Review Committee
o Approve 16 requests, 2 as 2-year provisionals
o Deny 3 requests
Approved a recommendation from the Evaluation Review Committee
o Haskell Indian Nations University, "accredited with probation,"
through June 30, 2006
Approved recommendations for Visiting Scholar licenses
o USD 233, Olathe, computer programming, deny
o USD 512, Shawnee Mission, Arabic, approve renewal
o USD 233, Olathe, Japanese, approve
o SEKESC, behavior analyst, approve
o USD 373, Newton, ESOL, approve
Approved $4.25m in IDEA continuous improvement grants to 69 USDs, interlocals
and special education cooperatives (range: $5,800 to $421,000)
Approved $1.3m in Even Start Literacy grants to 7 USDs
Approved a bond election for USD 464, Tonganoxie
New QPA Pilot Schools Selected
The following schools will begin piloting the new QPA regulations during
the 2004-2005 school year. The new regulations become effective for all schools
on July 1, 2005.
USD 205: Bluestem HS, MS, Haverhill and Leon elementaries
USD 229: Cedar Hills elementary, Harmony elementary and ms, Lakewood elementary,
Mission Trail elementary, Overland Trail elementary and ms, Prairie Star elementary
and ms, Stilwell elementary, Sunset Ridge elementary
USD 239: Minneapolis grade, jr/sr HS
USD 253: Emporia HS, MS, Lowther N and S intermediates
USD 258: Humboldt HS
USD 259: Bryant, Earhart, Emerson, Lewis, McCollom, McLean, OK, Peterson, Riverside
USD 267: Garden Plain HS
USD 298: Lincoln elementary
USD 349: Stafford elementary, MS/HS
USD 364: Maryville jr/sr HS
USD 367: Osawatomie HS, MS, Trojan elementary, Swenson ece
USD 373: Newton HS, Santa Fe MS, Chisholm MS, Newton, Slate Creek, South Breeze,
Sunset and Walton elementaries
USD 383: Bergman, Lee, Marlatt, Northview, Ogden, Theo Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson,
and Amanda Arnold elementaries
USD 385: Andover HS, Central HS, MS, Central MS, Cottonwood, Meadowlark, Robert
Martin and Sunflower elementaries
USD 387: Altoona-Midway MS, elementary
USD 394: Rose Hill intermediate, primary
USD 399: Natoma HS, elementary, Paradise JHS
USD 402: Augusta MS, Lincoln and Robinson elementaries
USD 407: Ruppenthal MS
USD 408: Marion HS, MS, elementary
USD 418: McPherson HS, MS
USD 431: Hoisington MS, Lincoln and Roosevelt elementaries
USD 436: Caney Valley jr/sr HS, Lincoln elementary
USD 459: Bucklin HS, elementary
USD 497: South JHS, Southwest JHS, West JHS, Lawrence Virtual Charter, Langston
Hughes and Sunflower elementaries
USD 503: Parsons MS
Schools Receive Accreditation
The following schools received 5-year accredited status at the July State Board
meeting:
USD 229: Overland Trail, Prairie Star elementaries
USD 247: McCune elementary
USD 259: Horace Mann elementary, Marshall MS
USD 269: Palco HS
USD 300: South Central elementary, MS, HS
USD 305: Oakdale elementary
USD 387: Altoona-Midway primary, intermediate, MS
USD 401: Chase elementary, HS
USD 497: Hillcrest elementary
USD 500: Eugene Ware, John Fiske, Frances Willard, New Stanley and Stoney
Point South elementaries, Northwest MS
USD 503: Garfield elementary
USD 509: South Haven HS
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