OTTAWA – When it comes to school, maybe the “good ol’ days” weren’t necessarily “good ol’ days.” At Tuesday night’s public forum on public education and school funding, Tom Krebs, from the Kansas Association of School Board, said such rose-colored nostalgia needs a does of realism. Schools, even in Kansas, were segregated a little more than 50 years and 40 years ago, only half of high school students graduated, he said. Many students got left out of educational opportunities, including those with learning disabilities, he said. Voters need to think hard about the candidates running this year and gauge their support for public schools, he said. He also said that many people are mistaken in thinking local property taxes pay most of the bills of local schools. Most school funding comes from a central pot of money collected in Topeka and includes the statewide 20-mill school levy, income taxes and other sources, Krebs said. As a result, probably about half of the money that goes to support Ottawa schools comes from Ottawa, he said. Cutting taxes at the state level often means local taxes go up, he said. Krebs says research shows the more money that has been put into public schools, the better educated and equipped the students will be. The crowd last night was small, with only about 14 present. All those in attendance were either already associated with the Ottawa school district or the Kansas Legislature; otherwise, not a single patron showed up.
Wednesday, June 23, 3:30 p.m.
