Brett Parker

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A Brief Breakdown of the 2022 School Funding Debacle

Concerns about Kansas’s education funding have been hanging around for decades. But it was the Gannon v. Kansas cases that reached the Kansas Supreme Court that finally brought about some action. The system adopted in 1992 used a formula to determine the annual funding for school districts. In early 2015, Governor Brownback scrapped this formula and replaced it with the now infamous block grant system. It was only supposed to be a temporary fix that gave legislators two years to come up with a better, more permanent funding formula. Whereas the old formula- according to Senate Minority leader Hensley- was equitable but underfunded, the block grant system was clearly inequitable and inadequate.

In February 2022 , the KS Supreme Court ruled that the block grant system was unconstitutional. In their ruling, the court gave the Legislature until June 30th to submit an equitable formula. If they could not meet the June 30th deadline, schools would be closed until a formula was approved. In late May, a formula passed Congress but was struck down by the Court. Certain legislators – generally conservative Republicans – claimed that the Court was holding children hostage and many said that we should ignore the order to shut down schools. Even talks of creating an amendment to limit the Supreme Court in this area were seriously circulated.

There are several problems with these reactions:
—Our legislators were already supposed to be working on a better formula; a year had passed since the block grant system was put in place and there was no evidence that any serious work had been done to create the new one. Our representatives should have been prepared to submit something, not complain about being pushed to do their job.
—The fact that some of the legislators called for people to ignore the Court or create an amendment to take away its power of enforcement is horrific. When our federal Constitution was written after our nation was founded, a system of checks and balances was created to hold the different branches responsible. These legislators were trying to undermine the power of the judicial branch in order to skirt their responsibilities.
—The aforementioned amendment could not have even passed in time to stop schools from closing this year. It would not have been voted on until November.

The funding problem was not fixed before Kansas Congress’s session ended so Brownback had to call a special session. Finally, on June 27th, our lawmakers passed a funding plan that Brownback signed. On June 28th, the Supreme Court accepted the plan.

Many are thankful that this issue was resolved in time so schools would not have their schedules disrupted. However, we must now look to the future as adequacy talks come to the front.

For a great article on this topic, go to:
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2022 /jun/28/kansas-supreme-court-accepts-latest-school-funding/

For some specifics on where the school funds are coming from, go to:
http://www.wibw.com/content/news/Kansas-Supreme-Court-backs-new-education-bill-Schools-will-stay-openq-384757131.html

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Press Release: BRETT PARKER FILES FOR KANSAS STATE HOUSE RACE

TOPEKA, KS – Overland Park resident and Olathe school teacher Brett Parker filed a petition to be placed on the ballot for the Kansas House of Representatives 29th District. Parker, a Democrat, received an overwhelming number of signatures supporting his challenge to conservative Republican incumbent James Todd.
Parker, a native of Johnson County, said he was motivated to run for office after witnessing how the great work accomplished locally was being undone by current political leaders in Topeka. “I’m not a professional politician,” Parker said, “but watching our businesses, our hospitals, our schools, and our citizens in Johnson County struggle in the turbulent economic climate created by Gov. Brownback and Rep. Todd made me want to get more involved.”
Parker, an English language teacher at Countryside Elementary School and Pioneer Trail Middle School, has seen the direct effects of Governor Brownback’s failed tax experiment. “I’ve seen firsthand the impact of Brownback’s policies on the students and teachers in our district. In addition, businesses are struggling, employment is suffering and health care is at a crisis point. It’s time families in Overland Park had an ally, not an enemy, in the Kansas Legislature,” Parker said.
Parker said if elected, he would serve as a responsible, moderate voice for the 29th House district and the citizens of Kansas. “Voters deserve a representative who is respectful and responsive to their needs,” Parker said. “I will work collaboratively in the Legislature to pass bills that grow our economy, create jobs, and expand the tax base. This in turn will allow us to invest in critical areas such as education and infrastructure development. I will also ensure local control stays with our local governments.”
Parker’s opponent James Todd has been highly supportive of Governor Sam Brownback’s policies. Todd has voted with the super-conservative Brownback coalition more than 90% of the time including votes for the unconstitutionally low school funding, hiking sales taxes on working families, and consistently undermining the autonomy of local elected leaders in Overland Park.

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Caucus Information

This Saturday both parties hold their presidential caucuses in Kansas, but they look a little different. While the Democratic caucuses are located by KS Senate district ( KS Democratic Info ), there are many Johnson County locations for Republicans to choose from ( KS GOP Info ).

Important information for Democrats and independents:

-You can register to vote, change party, or change address at the Democratic caucuses. As long as you register as a D at or before the caucus, you can cast your vote.
-Registration is from 1-3 (try to be there at least by 2:30) and the candidate selection begins around 3:30. If you’re not registered or in line to register at 3:00, then you will be too late.
-While you wait you will have the chance to meet local candidates (like me if you live in the Senate 8 boundaries).

Important information for Republicans:

-You must have registered as a Republican by February 4th of this year to participate. No registering at the caucus.
-Your polling places are open from 10:00-2:00 Saturday. You may come by at any point during that window (try to be there by 1:30) and cast a ballot.

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This Is The Year We Win!

2022 is here! We are still just over 10 months away from election day. There is a lot to be done but we are off to a fantastic start. Thanks to nearly 70 different contributors, we passed our $5,000 fundraising goal!

It is becoming clear that our community, district 29, is where change begins for Johnson County. Of all of the seats held by extremists in the Kansas City area, our community cast the strongest anti Brownback vote in 2014. There is an appetite for new leadership that will stand up to the failed agenda of the governor and restore the common sense leadership that Kansans used to be able to take for granted. I’m excited to be working to restore our state and look forward to working along side you!

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On the Campaign Trail

It has been a busy, but invaluable, first two weeks of the campaign. I have had the chance to meet many voters and hear their hopes for Kansas along with their frustrations with the current state of affairs. I’ve also met with local business and city government leaders in Overland Park to hear the ways that policies from Topeka have affected their work locally. The hard truth is that it’s a tough time to make long term plans for businesses in Kansas. While there are any number of guesses as to what tax policy will be in the coming years, the only certainty is that the current policy is unsustainable. The uncertainty surrounding future investments in transportation pose another challenge for businesses. Highway 69, I- 35, and I-435 are economic corridors for our area and large sweeps of KDOT funds to plug budget holes has left their future maintenance and expansion in doubt.

Funding highways and promoting a stable business climate are not partisan issues, they are common sense priorities. The longer we delay a return to investing in our businesses and transportation, the more difficult it will be to fix.We need to address these priorities in a way that serves everyone and we need to do it soon. So when you take a break from working to elect pragmatic public servants, let the incumbents know how important our businesses and our roads are to life in Overland Park.