Voting AGAINST Blue Valley last week, State Senators Kellie Warren and TJ Rose voted to divert even more taxpayer dollars to private (mostly religious) schools; rejected holding those private schools accountable for how they use and manage Kansas taxpayer dollars; voted to disenfranchise mail-ballot voters; and voted against local control of School Boards. BV-area State Senator Cindy Holscher voted the opposite of Warren and Rose in each case.
SB 87 expands the existing voucher-like “Tax Credit Scholarship Program,” which gives taxpayer-funded refunds for sending kids to private schools. This bill will reduce the state general fund even more than the current “Tax Credit Scholarship Program” already does - by diverting additional million$ in tax dollars to private schools with NO oversight or accountability to taxpayers. That’s money that could otherwise go to public education or other essential public services that benefit ALL Kansans. SB 87 passed the Senate 24-16, short of a veto-proof majority. Read more: https://tinyurl.com/4xjcxabp
Amendment to SB 87 by Sen. Dinah Sykes of NE JoCo would have required accountability for the “Tax Credit Scholarship Program” in the form of a performance audit of Scholarship Granting Organizations; it failed 9-31. The private schools receiving “scholarship” money are not held to the same accreditation standards, oversight, or financial scrutiny that Kansas public schools are. KSDE gets NO information on the “scholarship” students’ performance - or even proof that the money was used on students at all. Read more: https://www.standupbluevalley.org/school-choice
SB 4 eliminates the grace period for mailed ballots to be received by the Election Office. Current law allows counting of mail ballots postmarked by Election Day and arriving by the Friday after Election Day to be counted. SB 4 will disenfranchise college students, military members, frequent travelers, home-bound citizens, and others who vote by mail. Ballots must be mailed by the Election Office to the voter; potential mail delays (known to occur) can affect both the time to receive the ballot and the time for it to get back to the Election Office through the postal service. SB 4 passed the Senate 29-10 with a veto-proof majority.
SB 47, written by dark-money Kansas Policy Institute, makes it easier to harass school board members, to market an alternate school board organization to school board members, and easier for board members to hijack the agenda. It interferes with the ability of communities to exercise local control and governance of their school boards. SB 47 passed the Senate 21-19, with nowhere near a veto-proof majority. Read more: https://tinyurl.com/4h9nc2kj
Now what? Last week was the halfway point in the KS legislature’s 2025 session, known as “turnaround.” Generally speaking, bills that pass one chamber (House or Senate) before turnaround get to go to the other chamber and, if passed there, are sent to the Governor for signature or veto.
If a bill passes both chambers, but is vetoed by the Governor, a 2/3 majority in both chambers is required to override the veto. The current makeup of the KsLeg is such that Republicans have a veto-proof majority in both chambers, IF they all vote together.
We cannot stress this enough: for anyone who cares about Blue Valley class sizes, availability of sports, music, arts, and language programs - NOW is the time to contact your BV-area state senator and KS House representative. Use this link to find them: https://ksleglookup.org
Email your state senator and KS House Rep to let them know you OPPOSE restrictions to voting, you OPPOSE interference with local control via legislation about local School Board operations, and you OPPOSE any program or expansion of a program that gives tax money to private schools via tax credits or any other mechanism. If enough voters make their voices heard, these bills may not make it through the House. Be sure to include your full name and address on any email sent to your legislators.
Note that you can also follow links at KsLegLookup to see all of your elected KS Senator’s and KS Rep’s votes so far this session (not only public education-related); the site is updated regularly.
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