Monday, November 30, 2009

Budget busters

Seems like Kasha Kelley sees an opportunity to shrink government due tobudget cuts that must occur to balance the state's budget. This would be her agenda regardless of a recession, but it does beg the question about what should the state government be doing, in good times and in bad. I would agree that the state needs a reserve and that spending AND tax breaks need to be re-evaluated for their effectiveness. But much of the spending increase has come in education, which I don't think is bloated. Certainly USD 470 can make a case that they get big bang for the buck, based on studies that showed so.

JUNE 20, 2007
TRAVELER ARCHIVES

The Arkansas City Public Schools get an A-plus in efficiency in helping its students achieve high marks.

The local school district is among only 21 school districts in the state that ranked "100 percent efficient" by Standard & Poor's, a spokeswoman for Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday. That is the highest ranking the state's 300 school districts could get.

The S&P Educational Efficiency Study identifies which Kansas school districts are maximizing their resources and how less efficient districts can make improvements.

"Kansas schools can learn a lot from each other, says a new report released today by Standard & Poor's, Governor Kathleen Sebelius and the Kauffman Foundation," Nicole Corcoran, press secretary for the governor, said Tuesday.

Ark City Schools Superintendent Ron Ballard said today he is pleased with the report, and he views it as a learning opportunity. He said he would issue a press release after he has read the report thoroughly.

"Ark City has come to the top of the list -- you can be as low as 60 percent (efficient)," Ballard said. "This shows we are cost-efficient in the way we are serving our kids."

The report places Ark City schools in the top 7 percent in educational efficiency in the state, he said.

"We have a great interest at some time to compare and contrast what we do with other top districts," Ballard said. "We would like to know what they are doing to serve their kids at a cost-efficient level.

"The governor's office is doing a great service to let us know whether we are meeting efficiency standards."

This S&P study follows up on an initial study in March of 2006, with the new data reflecting recent increases in Kansas' school funding, Corcoran said in a press release.

"These analyses are the first of their kind in Kansas, and are thought to be the first of their kind in the country," she said.

"We cannot spend our way to excellence," Sebelius said. "But we can achieve excellence through strategic investments in the right areas. This study is a road map of what works and what doesn't. Every Kansas child, in every corner of the state, deserves a first class education. This report helps us get the best return on our investment."

To determine a district's efficiency, Standard & Poor's analyzed multiple data points including how much the district spends per student; the district's performance on the Kansas Reading and Math Assessments; and the percentage of students enrolled in the district with economically disadvantaged backgrounds, disabilities or limited English proficiency.

Ballard said the report considers cost-per-pupil figures and factors those figures with academic state test scores in mathematics and reading.

"The final factors are (a district's) at-risk population, and the number of students with limited English proficiencies and those who need disability services," Ballard said.

The Ark City school district a high rate of at-risk students, he said.

Each school district was given an efficiency score, according to the press release. Kansas' scores range from about 60 percent to 100 percent efficient. This means that the least efficient district is approximately 60 percent as efficient as the most cost-effective districts. The average Kansas school system is approximately 85 percent as efficient as the most cost-effective districts.

Among the state's 300 school districts, there were 257 school systems that had adequate data for analysis.

Other districts that received a 100 percent ranking include: Ashland, Baldwin City, Brown County, Burlingame, Deerfield, DeSoto, Dodge City, Gardner-Edgerton, Great Bend, Halstead, Kismet-Plains, Lansing, Leoti, Lyons, Newton, Osawatomie, Rolla, Shawnee Mission, Waconda, and West Elk.

In addition, six districts achieved efficiency scores that exceed 99 percent. These districts include: Durham Hills, Olathe, Hays, Blue Valley, Scott County, Valley Center.

"There is considerable diversity in the student performance, spending levels, and enrollment characteristics of each of these districts," said Michael Stewart, director, Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services. "It's because of this diversity that we believe improved efficiency is possible for any district that is willing to put forth the effort and learn from other districts that have successfully managed their resources."

The study was paid for by The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. It is being released in two parts: the first part includes an executive summary, key findings, and details about the methodology Standard & Poor's used to identify efficiency; and the second part includes comparative performance profiles for each of the state's less efficient districts.

"The efficiency analysis is a powerful tool that allows Kansas school districts to better understand how their use of resources influences student performance," said Margo Quiriconi, director, Education Research and Policy, at the Kauffman Foundation. "We hope that this tool will be important to local school communities in reviewing what they might do to improve the effectiveness of their districts."

A complete copy of the Educational Efficiency Study can be found online at www.schoolmatters.com.

Reality setting in

Cuts have consequences. Cowley County has become renown for taking care of developmentally disabled. Looks like the companies that do that are going to have to cut their budgets by 10 percent.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Tax increases on the table, Part II

My editorial from last week in the Traveler about whether tax increases should be part of the balanced budget discussions in Topeka.

Blast away, my conservative friends.

Computer conundrum

My editorial from last week on the computer problem. One thing that some people are asking is ... if the system is so bad, how come these problems weren't brought up earlier? I do know that old systems can have a hard time keeping up with new demands. But it's a good question and one I'd hope Steve Archer and city commissioners are asking.

Computer condundrum

My editorial from last week on the computer problem. One thing that some people are asking is ... if the system is so bad, how come these problems weren't brought up earlier? I do know that old systems can have a hard time keeping up with new demands. But it's a good question and one I'd hope Steve Archer and city commissioners are asking.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Whose-space?

This local story about a man accused of trolling myspace for young teens/girls cinches it for me — Lillian is not allowed on social newtork sites until she's 18!

More seriously, what's the best way for a parent to monitor this stuff? It would be hard to monitor myspace/facebook and everything else out there every day. But you can't just deny the access to this new method of communication.

Are things getting better?

This disappointing news about the local job center is offset a tad by this more upbeat news about jobs in Kansas. We complain about the lack of economic activity in our area, but when times are bad we don't fall to the bottom of the barrel.

The workforce center at Strother was always a bit of a strange bird. There were so many different agencies and layers of government out there it was hard to figure out exactly what it's mission was. I'm not saying it didn't do good work, because I know some of the folks who worked there and how they tried to help both businesses and employers. Hopefully something even better will emerge.

It also looks like Cowley First is moving toward getting whole again. This would be a good thing. We need stability and leadership in that program for it to survive.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Reasonable Republicans cont...

Do conservatives or the GOP or whoever have to reflexively oppose EVERYTHING Obama and Congressional Democrats do?

David Frum, former speech writer for Bush, thinks probably not. If we didn't do a stimulus or didn't bail out the banks (started under Bush) what would have been your answer to the worst recession and financial crisis in 80 years?

Cheap water

Should the city keep giving Creekstone a break on water rates?

Methinksso.

They use a lot of it and are the major employer in town. This makes much more sense than a full property tax exemption for an oil pipeline that will not produce any after-construction jobs.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Medicare for all

Very illuminating story on Politico.com about health care reform proposals in Congress. This story shows how non-radical the legislation really is, despite opponents doomsday rhetoric.

Seems like we're trying to put band aids on gaping wounds. Why doesn't the United States join the rest of the developed world and have a single payer, government run system — basically Medicare for all. Sure it would be imperfect, but it can't be more imperfect than thousands of people dying because they lack insurance and families and business going under because they can't afford private coverage.


Health is not a commodity that should be subject to the laws of supply and demand. Some worry about freedom being taking away by more government involvement in health insurance. Imagine the "freedom" from fear about rising costs and lack of coverage a single payer system could unleash.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Pipeline problems

County officials are right to be concerned about losing tax money on a proposed pipeline running through Kansas to Cushing Okla. There's a populist reaction that wonders how the heck can we give the oil industry tax breaks. There's the economic development view that they are needed to spur economic activity. And the truth is probably somewhere in between on whether they benefit the larger community, and whether this project will create more energy independence.


There does seem to be a good point being made about tax exemptions in general - everybody offers them to compete for business, but do they really bring the promises hoped for. Cities and counties are required to do a cost benefit analysis of property tax exemptions for a specific business. But as far as I know, there is no follow up or accountability if those jobs/economic benefits don't occur as promised.

Accounting mess

This story sounds like the city's office software is a nightmare. Makes you wonder what problems have NOT been caught. Seems to me officials should buckle down and find a way to fix this - if they have to forgo other services. The brain center's got to function for the body to perform.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Clean er up

The county several years ago created health and safety regulations to force clean up of blighted and trashed properties outside of city limits. They continue to enforce these rules and it's had a decent affect. The IXL area, for example, is much tidier than it was a few years ago. Short of zoning, this was step in the right direction to create some influence over property owners who let their place go and devalue the rest of ours, not to mention the safety and general aesthetics of the county.

Friday, November 6, 2009

KTPS

I'm going on KPTS's Kansas Week today. Channel 8 around here. Show airs at 7:30. Topics are:

1. Parkinson's call to consider tax increases to balance the budget
Not gonna happen

2. Sarah Palin speaking at Salina Chamber of Commerce
Probably torque some members of the chamber but will draw huge crowd

3. Tea Party rally in Wichita this week
They're going to save us from communism, or is it socialism, or is it nazism? One of the isms

I'll try not to disappoint my liberal base
:)

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Ashcroft heart Tiahrt

Below is a pretty good endorsement for Tiahrt, trying to ensure the conservative mantle from Moran in their battle for U.S. Senate. Ashcroft was one Bush administration official who managed to keep full integrity intact by refusing to reauthorize the domestic spying program.

I noticed that Tiahrt was not mentioned in the Eagle story about the Tea party stop in Wichita yesterday. Probably smart for him to avoid too direct contact with that group. He's using their rhetoric, though, and perhaps would have been there if things were not so busy in D.C.





TIAHRT SECURES HIGH PROFILE ENDORSEMENT FROM JOHN ASHCROFT

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Former Senator and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft (R-MO) today endorsed Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) in his bid for the U.S. Senate. As U.S. Attorney General, Ashcroft led the Department of Justice after the attacks of September 11, 2001 and under his leadership the Department was successful in the disruption of over 150 terrorist plots around the globe.

“Todd Tiahrt is a principled fiscal and social conservative who understands what it takes to keep this country safe,” said Ashcroft. “He fights for the conservative values he believes in and does not waver in the face of tough opposition.”

“Conservatives across this country are yearning for principled conservatives in Washington,” continued Ashcroft, “I feel strongly that Todd Tiahrt can help provide that common sense conservative leadership in the Senate.”

A staunch conservative, Ashcroft was elected Governor of Missouri by record breaking margins and remains the only Republican Governor to be re-elected to a second, consecutive term in the Show Me state.

Ashcroft joins the growing list of conservatives who have endorsed Tiahrt including Sen. Jim Inhofe, former Sen. Rick Santorum, Congressman Mike Rogers, former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, former Congressman Jim Ryun, and conservative talk radio icon Mark Levin. Tiahrt also has the support of groups such as; Concerned Women for America, Kansans for Life, Family Research Council PAC and Eagle Forum.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Tiahrt the tea partier

Todd Tiahrt has flipped his lid, and decided whole hog to join forces with the paranoid, tea party crowd, if these comments from Wichita Eagle editorial page are correct.

Since Obama was electd, Tiahrt has become a radical partisan, demagoguing about communism and socialism and betting on a revived conservative movement to win the GOP primary for U.S. Senate.

Is he right?

GOP rocks the vote

Republicans won big governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey. How the tide changes in just a year.

The most interesting race, though, was for Congress in upstate New York, which featured a "tea party" candidate who pushed out the moderate Republican, and then lost to the Democrat. What both Republicans, and to some degree Obama's Democratic Party, are failing to realize, is that politics is won and policy is made in the middle, where MOST people think and feel.

Compromise and practicality are GOOD things.

Palin to Salina

Wonder how much the chamber of commerce in Salina will pay to have at their annual banquet. Seems awfully political. Retired politicians makes sense, or perhaps even sitting politicians from your own city or state. But Palin is a lightening rod in American politics right now. Local chambers are usually pretty careful to avoid taking political sides.

On the other hand, she'll draw a big crowd.

Maybe Ark City can get Rush Limbaugh

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Tax increases on the table?

Guess you can talk about tax increases if you aren't running for re-election. Some people are reflexively against raising taxes of any kind, but with the state in the budget hole its in, they should at least be part of the discussion. Gov. Parkinson is being a responsible elected official by stating this early on in the process.

Sidewalks rock

I think this is a great idea for north Summit. Glad to see the commission on board and pushing sidewalks for both sides of the street. That retail area was built for the car but you see people trying to walk to stores, crossing driveways and lawns with no safe path to help them. The street is surrounded by residential areas where people could walk from if sidewalks guided them. Sound also like a good opportunity to leverage funds from the state.