To the editor:

On Thursday evening, Oct. 9, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius delivered an address for the Emily Taylor and Marilyn Stokstad Women’s Leadership Lecture.

Friday morning’s Journal-World reported the occasion under the surprising headline, “Governor short on school funding details.”

The article devoted most of its space to excoriating the governor for failure to tell us what she was going to do about school financing and a few lines to the subject of the evening.

Gov. Sebelius was not invited to deliver a campaign speech. She did not, as reported, merely “touch on her topic.” She was here to honor two outstanding women. And she did, reviewing their careers and discussing Kansas’ unusual record in integrating women into the political process at all levels. The governor did “touch on” the subject of school finance, saying that she would consider it her first priority and would, as any Democratic governor with a Republican Legislature must, consult and collaborate with the leadership to find the best possible solutions.

Reading the article one could be excused for concluding that (1) the headline was written before the event, and (2) the reporter suffers from a severe hearing loss.

The Journal-World’s reputation for accurate reporting would be enhanced by fitting the reporting to the occasion and, if necessary, providing hearing aids to its reporters.

Genevieve McMahon,

Lawrence