To the editor:

The recent drive by the Legislature to limit bargaining by teachers seems on a fast track to approval. There were two proposals submitted: one approved and provided by groups of educators, administrators and the Kansas Association of School Boards; the other by Dave Trabert, president of Kansas Policy Institute, not an elected official or school official or teacher.

Trabert has said, in a Journal-World online discussion, that his proposal, which essentially limits bargaining to wages and hours, is endorsed by “superintendents and education groups.” Under questioning, he has repeatedly refused to name the groups that supported his proposal. That proposal seems, from news reports, to be the frontrunner in the House Education Committee.

Those are the facts. The issue is that, again, KPI has placed in play a proposed legislative issue that will affect thousands of teachers each year, has gained favor for its proposal in the Legislature, and all without disclosing who supports it. This leads to a question: “Why is it so important that the Legislature, a public body, make decisions on sweeping legislation such as this without disclosure as to who actually wants it?”

As Kansans, we must, in my opinion, demand openness, truthfulness and honesty of our legislators. Their accepting a proposed statute change from unknown persons or organizations smacks of secrecy and the kind of backroom tactics that can never bode well for the residents of our state, no matter of what political bent.