December State Board News
"Choice" Proposals Fuel Heated Debate. . .
To see a copy of the Transition Team proposals and a list of team
members, go to http://www.ksde.org/commiss/dec2005materials.pdf
and read pages 173 - 177.
Legislative proposals from Commissioner Bob Corkins and his Transition
Team for "scholarships" for special education and at-risk
students and for changes to the state's Charter School statute fueled
hours of sometimes contentious discussion and debate at the December
State Board meeting.
The probably-inevitable approval for those proposals was postponed
until the January State Board meeting, however, for several reasons,
including the late hour (6:15 pm on Tuesday).
Superintendents Brenda Dietrich, USD 437, Auburn-Washburn and John
Morton, USD 373, Newton, spoke at the request of United School Administrators.
Dietrich related difficulties with lightly-regulated charter schools
from her history as a superintendent in Massachusetts.
Morton called the legislative proposals "old responses to
old problems." He urged the Board to work collaboratively with
school personnel to seek "new answers" to improve educational
opportunities for all students.
Morton also said, "We need to be having these conversations
prior to the state board adopting a legislative agenda and not on
the day when it is an item for decision on the agenda."
Superintendent Milt Dougherty, USD 444, Little River, a member
of the Transition Team, introduced the proposals, citing a "broken
system" as a need for the introduction of "scholarships"
for at-risk and special education students and increased flexibility
in the charter school law.
He also questioned who at the local level should have control over
education decisions, [implying parents instead of local boards of
education] as well as whether we should concentrate on public education
or an educated public.
Greg Forster, representing the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation,
Indianapolis, Indiana, lectured the Board on the necessity for "choice"
for parents, citing "empirical evidence" that such programs
produce better results for students (and, according to him, for
public schools), than do programs within the public school setting.
Forster also was scornful of adequacy studies and of charters "held
hostage" to local school boards.
"There are mixed reviews of research on vouchers and charters
- I can read Education Week like everyone else," noted
Bill Wagnon, district 4, Topeka.
During Board discussion, Janet Waugh, district 1, Turner, got blunt.
"I'm from Wyandotte County, where we say it as we see it,"
she began.
"If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a
duck, it's a duck. These are vouchers."
Earlier in the morning, 22 people addressed the Board during the
Citizen's Open Forum. 3 conferees, parents of children with autism,
spoke in favor of special education vouchers. 6 conferees, all from
Topeka or KCK, spoke in favor of vouchers and charter schools. 9
conferees, including 1 parent, from Maize, spoke against vouchers.
4 conferees spoke on other topics.
In addition, every seat in the Board room was occupied (approximately
100 chairs) and the hallways outside were crowded. Many of those
attending were administrators and local board members from Kansas
USDs.
When questioned about establishing a "level playing field"
between public schools and private schools who might receive vouchers,
Forster responded that "public schools do not have to take
all disabled kids" either.
The audience response to that comment was loud and incredulous.
In response to questions from Board members, Commissioner Corkins
explained why the proposals were made. He stated that the aim was
"to improve student performance [for the students cited in
the Court's decision this past summer as not receiving adequate
education] "with minimal amount of change possible."
Carol Rupe, district 8, Wichita, expressed surprise that the Transition
Team produced such recommendations. "I thought they were to
help you learn your job, not look into our legislative
recommendations," she stated.
"We set out 2 years' worth of goals and objectives in our
retreat in February without including vouchers or charter school
changes. I'm sorry our ideas from that retreat weren't included
in your proposals," she continued.
Steve Abrams, district 10, Arkansas City, chair of the Board, stated
that the recommendations were within the scope of the Board goal
on redesigning the educational system in Kansas.
"We haven't discussed this before, but it's within the goal.
We're changing tactics, not goals," he explained.
Kathy Martin, district 6, Clay Center, expressed surprise at the
large turnout of school and school board personnel. "They say
they're not scared, but why such a big turnout if they're not scared
of these very minimal efforts to give parents choice. " She
went on to speculate that perhaps they were scared of losing control
over funds.
She questioned Commissioner Corkins about adding items to the legislative
proposal, such as allowing retirees to work in the district from
which they retired, funding all day kindergarten and half-day early
childhood programs and allowing parents to enroll their students
across district boundaries without local board approval.
Corkins responded that he had only proposed items that needed legislative
action, that Martin's items could be accomplished with changes in
State Board regulations.
[editorial note: none of Martin's initiatives can be accomplished
through State Board regulation.]
Waugh indicated that she could support vouchers if and only
if the accepting school had to accept all applicants and if
the accepting school met all Kansas accreditation and Federal ESEA/NCLB
requirements.
She asked Corkins whether he would revise the proposal. He refused,
stating, "No private institution will take scholarships if
they have to meet state and federal regulations."
Sue Gamble, district 2, Shawnee, requested information from Board
attorney Dan Biles about the constitutionality of public money going
to private institutions.
Biles replied that there are 4 different Attorney General opinions
on the subject, 1 from Bob Stephen, 2 from Carla Stovall and 1 from
Phill Kline.
"Three and a half say it's not, one-half says it is,"
Biles replied. [The most recent decision, from Kline, is the split
decision.]
In other action (yes, there was other action), the
State Board:
- Approved a contract for David Awbrey to become Director of Communications
and Recognition Programs at a $76,000 salary
- Heard a presentation on the Challenger Learning Center of Kansas
- Recognized the 2005 Milken educators
- Heard presentations on Stafford Entrepreneurial Charter School and Newton
E3 Charter School
- Heard the Kansas State High School Activities Association annual report
- Appointed Vernon Welch, superintendent, USD 480, Liberal, to the Licensure
Review Committee
- Appointed Alice Morris, Coffeyville middle school principal, to the Professional
Standards Board
- Approved 204 out-of-field waiver requests from the Waiver Review Committee
(see http://www.ksde.org/commiss/dec2005materials.pdf
pages 65-72 for details)
- Approved model curricular standards for Family and Consumer Science (see
http://www.ksde.org/commiss/dec2005materials.pdf
pages 87- 170)
- Approved a bond election for USD 413, Chanute
The January State Board of Education meeting will be Tuesday and
Wednesday, January 10 and 11, at KSDE, 120 E. 10th, in Topeka. The
Board agenda and materials will be available on the KSDE website,
http://www.ksde.org/commiss/bdmaterials.shtml
the week prior to the meeting.
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