By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The snow and cold temperature didn’t hinder attendance at Saturday morning’s kickoff of the Eggs and Issues legislative series, hosted by the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce.
A light breakfast was served and then on to business with Statehouse updates from three area legislators: 111th District Rep. Sue Boldra, R-Hays, 110th District Rep. Travis Couture-Lovelady, R-Palco, and 40th District Sen. Ralph Ostmeyer, R-Grinnell.
The trio first delivered brief remarks about their legislative work since the 2014 session opened Jan. 13, and then answered questions submitted by the audience.
Many wanted to know about education funding.
Boldra, a longtime educator, has been appointed to the special committee considering Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposal to fund all-day kindergarten.
“I love the concept,” said Boldra, “but I’m unsure where the money will come from.”
The governor’s plan is for the Legislature to spend $16.3 million the first year and add an additional $16 million for each of the next five years. The plan total would be $240 million.
“There are only 15 Kansas school districts without full-day kindergarten,” Boldra pointed out, “but some of them require families to pay for it. Olathe is the highest, charging $1,375 per semester, so you know which kids are being left out.”
The plan would not mandate that kindergartners be in school all day.
“The state would pay for those who choose to attend all-day kindergarten, which should be available to all kids,” Boldra said. “Research shows money spent on early childhood education is getting the ‘best bang for your buck.'”
The legislature is still awaiting a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that will determine whether the state must comply with a lower-court ruling requiring the state to increase annual funding for K-12 education by an estimated $450 million.
All three legislators contend it is an “affront to the Constitution for the court to tell the Legislature how much to pay” for school funding, a remark that drew audience applause when Boldra spoke.
“It’s an interesting dynamic,” Couture-Lovelady said. “Kansas students are consistently in the top 10 percent of national testing, yet what we’re doing is ‘educate and export.’ We need to get the economy growing first and more people moving into the state. We do a great job of educating students but there are no jobs when they graduate, especially well-paying jobs.”
“We need to be fair,” Ostmeyer said. “We’ve put more money into education every year. The low-enrollment formula is critical for rural western Kansas school districts. But judges should not tell us how much to spend.”
The next Eggs and Issues breakfast is scheduled for March 22 at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History. The series is sponsored by AT&T.