I was one of three questioners at Thursday night’s debate at Wichita State University between Attorney General Phill Kline and challenger Paul Morrison. I hated the format, in which both candidates answered each question, then both gave rebuttals to each other’s answers. The result was that there was a lot of repetition (especially by Kline about Senate Bill 323 and child molesters), and we got to ask a lot fewer questions than I would have liked. Still, as our editorial on today’s opinion page notes, this race has the most compelling candidates and the most suspense, as a poll last week put it at a statistical dead heat. And the debate did showcase the contrast between a charismatic politician and a veteran prosecutor. Did any of you watch the debate, either in person or on TV? What did you think?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Seven Wichita middle schools failed to meet performance standards mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act and must offer students the option of transferring to other schools. But this is just the first splash of the coming tidal wave. As the Kansas Association of School Boards has noted, every public school in the state will eventually fail to meet the 100 percent proficiency standard required by NCLB.
As a result, it’s good that the Kansas State Board of Education plans in the next few months to study the impact of opting out of NCLB. Doing so could mean a loss of federal funds, so the board needs to proceed extremely cautiously. But opting out also could save the state the cost and frustration of trying to comply with a standard that State BOE chairman Steve Abrams correctly describes as “statistically impossible.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Delay rarely pays. But in the case of how best to crack down on boarded-up and neglected houses, the Wichita City Council was wise this week to defer a vote on a proposed sweeping update of city housing codes until district advisory boards, neighborhood groups, landlords, tenants and other stakeholders weigh in. This is the kind of City Hall decision-making that hits Wichitans where they live, and the community needs a thorough debate before the city acts to sharpen its anti-blight tools to the point of being able to lock up fourth-time offenders for a year. More time also may provide an answer to whether current housing codes would suffice with more resources for enforcement.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
It’s not surprising that the Kansas Senate president, a Republican, would endorse the GOP gubernatorial candidate, because party members tend to stand together at election time. But the inclusion of Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, among 18 prominent Republicans endorsing candidate Jim Barnett this week was noteworthy because Morris recently has been at odds with fellow senator Barnett on the flap over Morris’ lunch conversation with Kansas Supreme Court Justice Lawton Nuss. Hearing about the inappropriate discussion of school finance, Barnett set multiple ethics probes in motion, leading to Nuss’ admonishment by the Commission of Judicial Qualifications last month.
Morris’ communications director explained his endorsement this way to Harris News Service: “Because he’s a good Republican.”
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, observed: “I really admire Steve for deciding to be part of the team. I’m not sure that Sen. Barnett has been part of the team.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
