Debbie Dyche – Kansas Association of School Boards

16Jul

IDEA workshops focus on advocacy and legal hot topics

KASB will offer three August workshops to prepare board members for a crucial national push to reauthorize and modernize the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The identical workshops on August 27-29 in Topeka, Dodge City and Salina, will feature advocacy tips from a top D.C. lobbyist, guidance from KASB’s expert staff and leadership, and a briefing on the critical impact of the 2020 U.S. Census on special education funding. KASB General Counsel Donna Whiteman will offer an afternoon of important legal programming. Go here to register for one of the workshops. Each workshop will kick off with a brief overview of perhaps the best opportunity in recent memory to fully fund the IDEA, which was enacted in the 1970s. Congress promised to pay for 40 percent of the cost to educate a...

KASB Updates, Newsroom, Local Boards, Student Issues

15Jul

Safety Workshops Rescheduled

KASB’s School Safety workshops planned for this week and early August have been rescheduled to September. “What Every Board Member Should Know About Safe and Secure Schools” will take place in McPherson on September 10; on September 11 in Colby; and in Olathe on September 12. Click here for information on these and other KASB workshops.

KASB Updates, Newsroom, Local Boards, Safety and Security

15Jul

Broadband Task Force Sub-Committee on Deployment discusses barriers

The Statewide Broadband Task Force that was formed by the 2018 Legislature continues to work on developing recommendations to help expand access throughout the state. The subcommittee on “Deployment” met Friday for review and discussions around a few key charges. Andy Huckaba, City Council of Lenexa presented information about the work that is being done at the federal level to promote support for expansion including model legislation that came out of a working group established by the Federal Communications Commission called the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC). Discussion then focused on getting a better picture of the many different federal programs that can support the expansion...

Kansas Legislature

15Jul

Vaping Task Force gears up for school year

The state Task Force on Vaping/E-Cigarettes in Schools met in Topeka on Monday to continue its work to help schools respond to what many educators say is an “explosive” increase in the use of the addictive devices. The Task Force was established at the direction of the Kansas State Board of Education following a May presentation by public health officials that shocked the state board members. They directed the immediate formation of a Work Group to develop recommendations by June. The work group has now evolved into a permanent Task Force that will make monthly progress presentations to the State Board; KASB Assistant Executive Director of Legal Services Angie Stallbaumer represents the association on the task force. The...

KASB Updates, Newsroom, Kansas Legislature, Student Issues, Safety and Security

12Jul

LFT in Manhattan for school safety and communications training

The Leadership for Tomorrow Class of 2019 was in Manhattan Thursday and Friday for sessions on school safety and media training. The class, which is comprised of school board members, superintendents and administrators from across the state, spent Thursday afternoon observing USD 383 Manhattan-Ogden’s annual active violence scenario drill at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary school. The drill, held each summer at a different district school, involves intensive cooperation between the school district, police, fire and emergency medical first responders. Manhattan-Ogden Communications and Safety Director Michele Jones told LFT that the summertime drills have been nearly ten years in the making, beginning with...

KASB Updates, Newsroom, Local Boards, Safety and Security, 2019 LFT

12Jul

Still a lot to learn of broader implications from Board of Tax Appeals ruling in Johnson County case

A state tax decision is expected to lower property tax revenue in Johnson County, but its statewide implications are not yet clear. The Kansas Board of Tax Appeals ruled in favor of the “Big Box Retailers” at the end of June in one of many appeals currently in process from Johnson County. This is the second ruling that would effectively lower the valuations on “Big Box Retail” stores in Johnson County following a sharp increase in valuations between 2015 and 2016. Although the board has not yet published the rationale for its ruling, it appears to focus on a change in the method of...

KASB Updates, Newsroom, Kansas Legislature, Local Boards

11Jul

School finance workshops focus on new funding

It’s school finance workshop season in Kansas, and state leaders are urging district budget officials to take advantage of the additional funding provided by the state legislature and approved by the Kansas Supreme Court. Deputy Commissioner Dale Dennis and School Finance Director Craig Neuenswander were in Salina on Wednesday to brief about 200 superintendents clerks and school business officers on the impact of the 2019 Legislature’s work and to walk them through the budget software released this week. School district budgets for Fiscal Year 2020 must be finalized by mid-August. Dennis told the crowd that school boards are in a “unique and unusual position” as they prepare their Fiscal Year 2020...

KASB Updates, Newsroom, Financing Schools, Kansas Legislature

10Jul

State Board limits budget request for 2020-21 school year

After what officials called the largest four-year increase in school funding in state history passed the Kansas Legislature and was approved by the Kansas Supreme Court this year, the State Board of Education decided not to ask for more money next year, with one exception and a note to the Legislature. The board will request an additional $1.55 million in 2020-21 to fully fund transportation aid for high school students attending post-secondary technical education programs. Current funding of $650,000 covers only 30 percent of costs. The board will also add a statement to the Legislature that if additional funding is available for...

KASB Updates, Newsroom, Financing Schools, State Board of Ed

10Jul

Applications now open for KASB Advanced Advocacy Training Institute

Applications are now available online to become part of a select group of 18 education advocates from across Kansas who will be invited to take part in the inaugural KASB Advanced Advocacy Training Institute or AATI. The KASB Advanced Advocacy Training Institute is a deep-dive, limited-group program focused on public education advocacy. Advocacy for education doesn’t just happen at the Statehouse in Topeka. It is a local issue, and each community needs champions - both within the public education system and outside of the system – who can effectively communicate the positive work that is being done and the need...

KASB Updates, Newsroom, Instruction & Services, Local Boards, Student Issues

13Jun

KASB office closed June 19

Due to construction, KASB’s Topeka office will be closed on Wednesday, June 19. Staff members will be working and can be reached by email or phone; you may call 785-273-3600 and use the “dial by name” option. The Clerks and Treasurers Workshop will take place as scheduled at the Washburn Institute of Technology

KASB Updates, Newsroom, Local Boards

Author - Debbie Dyche