Kansas Education Commissioner Bob Corkins’ talk about using state funds for private school vouchers hasn’t lined up the necessary votes on the State Board of Education for even a limited program, at least not yet. Member Ken Willard (in photo) of Hutchinson, who usually votes with the board’s conservative majority, recently said he thinks that vouchers need more study and that a proposal is unlikely to win board approval in time for the 2006 legislative session. The Legislature could take up the issue without the state board’s recommendation, but none of this bodes well for those counting on Corkins to launch vouchers out of the gate.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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38 Comments
Several years ago when my children were still in School. I wanted to sent them to another school district.402 just was not doing what I thought they should to educate my kids. I found that I could sent them elsewhere but the buses for the district I wanted could not enter Augusta. I would have to foot the bill of transportation if I wanted them to go elsewhere.
That is just a fact of life, often we are presented with a option and if we do not like it then it is up to you to fund it yourself. It is like if I want to shop at Target but Wal-mart is the only store in town. I will have to go where a target is or start one on my own. But I can not expect Wal-mart to pay for a target.
I understand the opinion of the parents that send their children to private schools. “Why should I help pay for a school that my kids do not go to?”. But that was your choice, you did not have to send your kids elsewhere when there is a school right there. Even if I had sent my kids to Douglass, I would still have to pay the school taxes in Augusta.But again it was my choice and what I want has to be taken with the cost it would occur.
“But that was your choice, you did not have to send your kids elsewhere when there is a school right there.”
Not always true.. suspended students MUST find private education.. or drop out.
Actually, paying for public school when your kids go to private school is not any worse than paying for public school when you are retired and have no kids.
The only way I would back private school vouchers is if they handicapped the private schools the same way the public schools are handicapped.
Public schools would be better if they didnt’ have to cater to everyone. They have no choice.
Private schools can pick and choose their students based on ablility to pay.
I wouldn’t be against private school households being given a tax credit, but not to take away from the public schools funding.
We’re going to crucify these right-wing idiots in the next election.
They’d better work fast . . .
Yeah, there’s little doubt they’ll get the royal boot in the next election.
We need to:
a) Eliminate so-called Private Schoolsb) Force the ‘rich kids’ to clean the toiletsc) Enact a sensitivity requirement so that right-wing jerks are eliminated from the voting poold) Increase school funding by the 1 billion dollars NEEDED
“Actually, paying for public school when your kids go to private school is not any worse than paying for public school when you are retired and have no kids.”
Or NOT being retired and paying retiree taxes to support those who ARE retired.
Next time you’re at the convenience store, and the teenager behind the counter can’t make change, remember that you voted to cut school spending! That’s the stake you have in public education, even when you don’t have kids!
I knew Galajad. Galajad was a friend of mine. Son, you’re no Galajad.
BTW, thanks for the link to buzzflash.com. It’s good to get the truth out. . .
P.L..Don’t underestimate the power of the right wing. A vast number are out there quietly agreeing with everything that is going on. There are tens of thousands of folks out there that will vote for whoever they think the Terry Fox’s and Joe Wright’s of the world will vote for. Many will vote on single issues, without even understanding or knowing what the other issues are all about. Many forget that it is our God given duty to vote.. but even more so, it is our God given duty to be wise. To be wise, we must be informed!
“a) Eliminate so-called Private Schools” etc. blah-blah-blah.”
If that’s Gala?ad, I’m Richard Nixon.
Go away, Steve. You’re not fooling anyone.
Paying for public schools is still paying for the education of that young dentist/lawyer/accountant that everyone goes to for their expertise.
Surely, just because a person doesn’t have children in the system today, doesn’t mean they don’t benefit from that same system.
Interesting, the speculation about the next election. Kansassam is correct, the right wing is not going to be swayed. Why would they vote with those who try to ridicule them?
And the left is the left and never voted for the current school board members anyway. Since, the right is lot bigger than the left in this state, where does that leave things?
Any chance for the liberals in giving the board members the “royal boot” lies with moderates republicans. The trick for the left is to get them to care about their issues, and being able to stomach being on the same side as liberals.
The Eagle is doing its best to influence who they can. How many silly stories were there on the horrors of Intelligent Design? And now the same with regard to vouchers.
Time will tell.
Can’t argue with any of that, Outlander, but we’ve down this road before–just a few years ago, at that.
Sam you are correct, but this time is maybe different in that these board members are more then just a name on the ballot. The last election, Steve Adiams was a unknown name on the ballot to me. Like the person he ran against. It could have been decided by a flip of a coin.The next time I will know who that person is and what he stands for.
The R.R will not go away, it is up to the rest of us to stop them. The real “MORAL MAJORITY”, our country, our vote, that is if Bush in the best interest of the country does not suspend the voting rights of the American people and declare marshall law. To defend against the burglar, you must burn the house down. There for the burglar has nothing to break in to.
Outlander makes a good point. In this state, Liberals can’t do anything without the help of moderate Republicans. The keyword is “moderate”, a trait some Liberals would do well to cultivate (if winning is the goal). Luckily, the arch conservatives seem to be helping us along by shaking out republicans that aren’t ideologically pure. It may be hard to swallow the fact that we need moderate Republicans. To my way of thinking, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. In my “house” moderates are welcome.
There are so many problems with the government schools that it is hard to even start this kind of discussion.
We need to get the government control away from education. The parents are the responsible party at the end of the day and we should find ways to allow the children to be educated as per the parents direction. Thus ending the bureaucratic nightmare that even sues itself for more funding. It is frightening today how many parents spend that extra effort raising kids up to year five, then off to the government to finish the job. How can anyone be surprised at the results.
Too many people think that society is better if they could just make sure everyone gets the right kind of education. This is a true statement at face value. However that means forcing children (or adults) into schools whether they agree or not. When did the U.S. become a place where you are forced to do things? What kind of person would endorse using the police power of government in such a manner? I’m not discussing making people follow laws designed to prevent harm to another citizen, what I’m saying is when did it become proper to force things upon people just because we think it will make them and hence society better? Do we have that right to force a collective will on others for such goals?
Let me say this again, children should be raised as their parents see fit and not according to the designs of the K.B.O.E, the legislature, or some random wing-nut teacher/administrator.
Hey, OneShot, do you actually think about what you write or do you just vent?
No child in America is forced to go to a government run school as you wrongly assert. One can homeschool or private school.
BTW, those countries that everybody on this website seems to be so worried about? They have government run education too, and it’s a lot more federally controlled and less locally controlled than ours is.
Did you go to school? If so, you can cite yourself as an example of how they fail . . .
P.L.,I am partial to musical satire. Your contribution was high art.
Hey, thanks, SteveE. I was starting to think nobody saw it . . .
XXX–As a moderate conservative, I agree with you that a coalition is needed to help oust the extreme right zealots.Unfortunately, if this blog is in any way representative, that ain’t ever going to happen.
The virulent attacks, the nasty antagonism, the name calling and the unprovoked hostility towards anyone who doesn’t 100% agree with the rabid liberals makes coalitions very difficult.
Moderation is called for on both sides, not just one. I have been called a liar, a fake, an extremist and an idiot on this blog. If that is an example of coalition building, it ain’t gonna work, and the extreme right will continue to rule.
SKIP THIS IF YOU’D BE ANNOYED BY AN OFF-TOPIC COMMENT (also posted on a different thread)
This is off topic, but how does a candidate attract voters for whom 1) Ray Thomas and 2) JM Walker are surrogates for? I would describe Ray as a libertarian Republican and JM an independent for stubborness sake.
CF and PL will vote in ways at least similar to me. However, RT & JM are the type who decide things in the country — maybe not in Kansas, though.
To further digress, there is serious money behind Connie Morris and her like. To assume she is gone because of her theatrics is probably misguided and overly optimistic.
I am hoping some electable moderate candidates will come on the scene. As XXX says on this thread, there is room in my house for those folks. This position makes me less than ideologically pure, but these days I care less about that than I used to.
Oh, yeah, Ray, and because people called you names and hurt your itty-bitty feelings, you’re never going to vote with them.
Coalition building means standing up for what you believe in and telling others why they should believe it too.
It doesn’t mean spinning yourself for every different audience. That’s what Kerry did. That’s why Kerry lost.
Actually, Ray, if you go back to the NSA thread, XXX went a lot further down the nasty road than some of us, but, hey, take a look: he’s a reasonable guy. And I think most of us are.
Making compromises with others for the greater good doesn’t mean you’ll never have a heated argument. That’s rarely the case, even among the like-minded “ideologically pure.” Nor does it mean you have to abandon your core principles.
Well thanks guys, I appreciate the support. But seriously, winning the next election or two shouldn’t be the only point. We need to find a common ground, a way to reunite the country. We’ve seen what domination of the country by the extreme right has done. I see no reason to expect things to get better with total domination by the Left. It doesn’t serve the nation to have half the people left out of the dialogue licking real or precieved wounds.
Ray, you point right at the problem. Have we so poisoned the well, that we can’t find commonallity? I plead guilty myself, but as you know, it’s hard to be reasonable when someone is in your face. While I maintain my Liberal principals, I think it would be to our advantage to remember that being an American should come before our political affiliation. Will that happen in my lifetime? I can only hope. I know we can’t continue in an environment where the will of half the people is ignored.
XXX,”it’s hard to be reasonable when someone is in your face.”
My answer: “In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins – not through strength, but through persistence.
- Anon”
XXX, Rage, Steve E.– You notice how the only people talking about finding “common ground” are us liberals.
When the right-wing talks about it, they mean we have to compromise with what they believe and want.
I been played for a sucker long enough.
The only thing I have to say to the right wing is, in the immortal words of Dick Cheney, “go f*** yourself.”
Thank God for the liberals who seek common ground. At least they can communicate with the majority in the middle. You know, the voters who decide which way elections go.
Well, explain to me then, Falcone, why the right-wing NEVER seeks common ground and they keep winning elections.
Seeking common ground is what Kerry did.
Kerry lost, remember?
PL, I think you know I agree with you, well, quite a bit, but you’re missing the point. “Common ground” is just that. It’s not giving in; it’s finding where you agree.
Perhaps an example can illustrate: Let’s take a poll. Question: Do you like the current majority on the Kansas State Board of Education?
We can poll you, me, Ray, JM, Tracy, Damoon, XXX, Ed, Steven E.,writerdog, CF, mrcontroversy, Kansasam. . .should I keep going? I think I’ve made my point.
Question 2: Do you like Fred Phelps? (Okay, that was gratuitous!. . . )
The hard-right coalition has been BARELY, desperately, holding on to power for several years now, partially because of 9-11, but also largely because the Democratic party can’t find its backside with both hands (I could mention some other peachy reasons, but I don’t want to start yet ANOTHER off-topic debate, within an off-topic debate).
Rage..Q1. No. For my own reasons.Q2. No. I guess that’s what makes God so great. He can even love Fred Phelps. I do pray for Fred as an image-bearer of God.. but I despise what he does.
Sam,
1) An honest mistake on my part–your earlier comment on the “right wing” threw me off.
2) I didn’t say you had to hate him. . .
I should clarify, since my numbering might have confused things. Both my points refer to question #2.
Or something. . .
The Florida Supreme Court struck down vouchers today.
Winds of change?
Rage,In answer to your questions:
1. NO2. HELL NO!
PL,For me to try to explain anything about the right wing would presuppose that I’m right wing. While I admit to being well to the right of your position, There’s a lot about the right that I don’t agree with. It’s that radical fringe of BOTH parties I have a problem with, and while I find your discourse well thought out and enlightening, I have little use for your views because they’re so radical. I’d much rather sit down with Ray, Steve, XXX, kansassam (and others) to discuss issues.
I’m sure you’ll take offense, but none is intended. It’s just that I prefer discourse over civil war, which seems to be your direction.
I’m looking for a good site for locating a private school. I found this one http://www.locateaprivateshool.com. Is there a better one out there?