To the editor:
I have been anxiously waiting for some sign of leadership from our governor or legislative leaders to find solutions for the enormous problems facing public education in Kansas.
As in past years, promises made to higher education have not been fulfilled. Our governor has recommended salary increases for teaching staff that may be construed by some to be satisfactory. But other staff members are being shortchanged. Also, it is unbelievable that the state will no longer match the students' fees for improvements in educational technology.
According to a Journal-World article, in one of the vocational-technical schools, there is a waiting list of 600 students who desire to enter a program which has graduates with starting annual salaries of $30,000 to $40,000. Doesn't our governor realize that when our citizens have an opportunity to make good salaries, our economy will be better?
When are we going to provide adequate funding for our K-12 public schools in Kansas? When you compute the governor's proposed increase of $50 per student in basic school aid, this is a measly 1.3 percent increase. This will probably not even take care of the increased utility costs, let alone any significant increase of salaries, which are currently very low. In Kansas, there were many unfilled teaching positions last fall. When the cost-of-living is considered, current teachers are not making salaries at the same level I made when entering the education profession almost 50 years ago. Additionally, with the increasing problems in our society, teaching continues to become more difficult each year.
Retired K-12 educators are very discouraged when they discover that retirees in many other states receive a permanent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) each year and our legislative leaders and governor indicate this is not possible in Kansas because of the so-called, "unfunded liability." There would be no unfunded liability and there would be no problem in financing a permanent COLA if the state's contributions had matched the employees' contributions each year, instead of only seven out of 37 years.
In spite of the lack of adequate funding, public education in Kansas ranks high in the U.S. However, if we continue to inadequately fund our schools, the quality is going to deteriorate!
Leonard G. Steinle,
Lawrence
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