A group with no name, no money and few connections is trying to light a fire under Gov. Bill Graves and the Legislature to do what it says is the right thing: Increase taxes for public education.
The group's members are taking their case to the people of Kansas over the Internet (www.KansasSchools.org) and in a series of cartoon strips that criticize Graves and key legislators for saying they are for education but refusing to spend the political capital to help it.
While the group may lack clout, it has plenty of commitment. Its members are parents of children in public schools.
"It seems like when people become informed about school finance, they support a tax increase for education," said Nancy Lusk, one of the organizers of the group.
Lusk and another group organizer, Judi Reilly, both of Overland Park, got involved in the school finance debate last year when local school officials tried to close the elementary school their children attended.
The two women and others challenged the decision and now the proposal is on the ballot.
'Alarming' lack of focus
Their research on their local school issue widened to school financing statewide, which they described as inadequate.
"It was also alarming that we weren't hearing any of this from many lawmakers in Topeka," Lusk said.
Many Kansans thought the 2001 legislative session would focus on public education. A task force appointed by Graves said schools were underfunded and a lawsuit challenged the finance formula, saying it discriminated against members of minority groups and students with disabilities.
Before the session, Graves urged legislators to steer away from promises of no new taxes in order to leave room for a tax increase for education and other budget areas.
But when the session started in January, everyone lost their nerve, the grass-roots advocates said.
Graves proposed a $50 increase in per-pupil spending, and then asked lawmakers to try to come up with more funds, even if that meant a tax increase. But Graves refused to propose a tax increase.
Restarting the debate
Lt. Gov. Gary Sherrer stepped forward and endorsed a tax increase for education, but found himself left alone out front by legislative leaders who said the Legislature would not pass a tax hike.
The calls for significant increases in spending and an overhaul of the finance formula seemed to drop off the legislative agenda. To jump-start the debate again, Graves has said he will introduce another school-funding plan this week.
Lusk and Reilly said they hoped their Web site, grass-roots efforts and cartoons would prod more legislators to get involved.
"As we begin the second half of the 2001 legislative session, it's obvious that the Kansas leadership in Topeka needs a little help in understanding just how serious the education funding issue is for the entire state," Lusk said.
Reilly added, "We don't have all the answers, but nothing good comes for free. So, if education needs a tax increase, we're willing to pay for it."
Neither woman said she was committed to a specific tax increase plan, just as long as the revenue paid for education. Lusk has testified before a Senate committee in favor of an increase in cigarette and alcoholic beverages taxes to help finance public schools.
Sen. John Vratil, R-Leawood, who has spoken to groups of parents brought together by Lusk and Reilly, said he appreciates their efforts.
"In our democratic process, it's absolutely critical for the average citizen to become informed and involved in the legislative process," Vratil said.
He said lawmakers are hungry for input from voters in their districts.
And, he said, he is convinced that the more people know about school finance, the more they will support an increase in funding greater than what Graves already has recommended.
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