photo by: Richard Gwin/Journal-World File Photo

Top row, from left: Incumbent Rep. Connie O'Brien, R-Tonganoxie, District 42; Jim Karleskint, R-Tonganoxie (challenger), District 42; Incumbent Rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence, District 44. Bottom row, from left: Steven X. Davis, D-Lawrence (challenger), District 44; Incumbent Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, District 45; Jeremy Ryan Pierce, R-Lawrence (challenger), District 45.

photo by: Richard Gwin/Journal-World File Photo

Rep. Connie O'Brien, 42nd District

Rep. Connie O’Brien, R-Tonganoxie, (incumbent) District 42

Age: 69

Occupation: Mother, Director of Religious Ed for Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Special Ed teacher, and substitute teacher.

Education: Associates degree from Kansas City, Kansas Community College, and BA in Social Studies/Secondary education from Saint Mary College in Leavenworth.

Tax policy: Do you support the tax policies that have been enacted during Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration? Why or Why not? And what changes, if any, would you support?

Yes, I support income tax cuts 71% of which goes to working Kansans and their families. The remaining 29% is for small businesses which provide 75% of all the jobs in Kansas. This has helped us have the lowest unemployment percentage, 3.7%, since 2001. I support lowering income taxes for working Kansans. I have talked to people about the income tax and many of their comment are “Why do I have to pay to work”. Kansas has set records four years in a row for new business filings, 18,200 in 2015. More businesses, more jobs. My Motto is, “Job Creation, Not Taxation.”

Education Policy: Do you believe Kansas currently provides adequate funding for its K-12 public schools? Why or Why not?

K-12 education is THE number one spending priority in Kansas. Fifty-one cents, that’s 51%, of every General Revenue tax dollar, $4.2 billion, goes to fund K-12 education. In comparison our surrounding states average 35%. When local and federal tax dollars are added K-12 education receives over $6 billion.That’s an average spending per pupil of $13,200. Kansas ranks 2nd nationally in the percentage of general revenue tax dollars going to K-12 education. Those who want more money for K-12 education also want to raise your taxes. Our focus needs to be on education outcomes. I once asked an education lobbyist how much would it take to fund education? His reply was, “You don’t understand. My job is to ask for more money.” Our focus need to be on outcomes.

Higher education: Do you believe Kansas currently provides adequate funding for its universities, community colleges and technical schools? And what types of new higher education initiatives, if any, do you believe the state should undertake in the next two years?

Education funding has increased year after year but so has tuition. Some of the universities claim the tuition hikes are necessary because of budget cuts. What they fail to mention is they are getting an increase but not as large as they wanted and their bank accounts are growing. The Kansas division of budget shows the increase funding for 2017 to be 1.3% on average.

Kansas has great community colleges and vocational -tech schools. Leavenworth Pioneer Technical school is a good example. They offer a variety of classes including Culinary, Construction, Electrical, Small Appliance Repair, Heating and Cooling, etc, etc. These are affordable ways to help students begin their college experience.

Budget policy: Kansas has faced substantial shortfalls in revenues in recent fiscal years, forcing the governor to make allotment cuts and to transfer funds from other programs, including highways. Going forward, what do you think the state’s top budget priorities should be and how do you propose they should be funded?

When the fiscal year ended on June 30 the state had taken in $58.8 million “more” than last year and the budget was balanced as is required by law.

Based on last Novembers Consensus Revenue Estimating Group’s report legislators significantly “increased” funding for K-12 education, KPERS and KanCare. Predicted revenue returns failed to meet expectations. Oil severance tax was $137 million short of expectations. Kansas oil producers shut down. They can’t operate on $20 a barrel oil. Agriculture commodities are down nationally. Cattle and grain prices are down. Economic downturns across our nation have impacted many other states such as our neighbor Colorado which is looking at a $400 million shortfall in predicted revenue returns. Missouri’s $300 million, and Oklahoma’s $1.4 billion shortfall. These national trends have nothing to do with the Kansas income tax cuts which have stimulated our economy. More businesses, more jobs, more “actual” revenue returns.

In order to balance our budget A KPERS payment can be delayed “if necessary” but must be paid back with interest. K-12 funding is untouchable. Missouri’s Democrat Governor, Jay Nixon, is cutting education to balance their state’s shortfall. The original increase to KanCare, $187 Million, was reduced by $57 Million. Meaning KanCare funding increased by $130 Million.

photo by: Richard Gwin/Journal-World File Photo

Jim Karleskint

Jim Karleskint, R-Tonganoxie (challenger), District 42

Age: 68

Occupation: Educator. Served as Principal of Immaculata High School, Leavenworth. Principal, USD 446, Independence, Kansas. Assistant Superintendent, USD 337, Royal Valley, Mayetta. Superintendent of Schools, USD 336, Holton.

Education: BS and MS, Pittsburg State University; PhD, University of Kansas

Tax policy: Do you support the tax policies that have been enacted during Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration? Why or why not? And what changes, if any, would you support?

I do not support the “tax experiment” that started in 2012. The state of Kansas is in serious financial trouble due to the failed experiment. Our credit rating has been downgraded two times. My opponent has supported tax and spend plans that led to Kansas losing over 5,000 jobs while neighboring states have gained tens of thousands of jobs. If elected I would support reviewing the tax experiment to make taxes in Kansas fair to all its residents.

Education policy: Do you believe Kansas currently provides adequate funding for its K-12 public schools? Why or why not?

Currently the State of Kansas does not have a school finance plan to support school. The “block grant” is being used, which is inadequate. There needs to be an equitable school finance formula developed.

Higher education: Do you believe Kansas currently provides adequate funding for its universities, community colleges and technical schools? And what types of new higher education initiatives, if any, do you believe the state should undertake in the next two years?

Just like K-12 education and other services, Higher education has experienced cuts due to the lack of funds available. I do not feel we can consider added funding if funds are not available. We must get the deficit spending and borrowing from transportation under control before we can move forward to support all levels of education and services for Kansans.

Budget policy: Kansas has faced substantial shortfalls in revenues in recent fiscal years, forcing the governor to make allotment cuts and to transfer funds from other programs, including highways. Going forward, what do you think the state’s top budget priorities should be, and how do you propose they should be funded?

As stated in the Tax Policy section Kansas is facing a serious financial situation. In excess of $2 Billion has been transferred from transportation to fund the Kansas budget. Before we can begin to get back on track to fund transportation, schools, and other essential services the state must get its financial house in order. My top priority would be correct the direction the taxes and balance the budget.

photo by: Richard Gwin/Journal-World File Photo

Rep. Barbara Ballard

Rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence (incumbent), District 44

Age: 71

Occupation: Associate Director, Dole Institute of Politics, KU; Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs; Associate Dean of Student Life and Director, Emily Taylor Women’s Resource Center. Instructor for Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies and School of Education, University of Kansas.

Education: B. Music Ed, Webster College, St. Louis, Mo.; M.S., Guidance and Counseling, Kansas State; Ph.D., Counseling and Student Personnel Services, Kansas State.

Tax policy: Do you support the tax policies that have been enacted during Gov. Sam Brown back’s administration? Why or why not? And what changes, if any, would you support?

I do not support the current tax policies. Over 334,000 Kansas businesses are

exempt from paying income taxes. It is not fair to others who pay their income taxes. The state cannot continue this policy because we need the revenue. It is costing the state over $260 million each year. I would vote to repeal the largest income tax cut in history, because we cannot afford it currently. The legislature needs to have a serious discussion about tax reform but the lack of revenue must be addressed first. The state is having a difficult time meeting obligations, and we cannot continue to “cut” or” borrow” our way out of this financial debacle.

Education policy: Do you believe Kansas currently provides adequate funding for its K-12 public schools? Why or why not?

No. The Block Grant does not allow for increased enrollment in our schools, creating a hardship for schools. Teachers morale is low. Class sizes have increased, often affecting outcomes. Salaries for teachers in Kansas rank 36th in the nation. There is no reason why our teachers are not, at least, at the national median (25’h). We have outstanding teachers in Kansas and we need to do all we can to keep them in the state.

Higher education: Do you believe Kansas currently provides adequate funding for its universities, community colleges and technical schools? And what types of new higher education initiatives, if any, do you believe the state should undertake in the next two years?

No. Universities, especially University of Kansas and Kansas State have taken big cuts. They have done a good job with the resources available but the biggest issue has been the need to raise tuition to offset the lack of state funding. Families and students are in a dilemma, because they can’t plan and worry that they cannot afford to pursue higher education. New higher education initiatives are not needed at this time. Increased, stable funding is needed. Being able to count on keeping the annual appropriated funding would be a start.

Budget policy: Kansas has faced substantial shortfalls in revenues in recent fiscal years, forcing the governor to make allotment cuts and to transfer funds from other programs, including highways. Going forward, what do you think the state’s top budget priorities should be, and how do you propose they should be funded?

K-12 Education (state mandate), Higher Education, Social Services, including Health Care, Mental Health services, Home Community Based Services, and Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities, Protecting KPERS and Kansas roads and bridges. First, repealing the 334,000 income tax cuts would help- over $260 million- but it would not be immediate. Revisiting other tax exemptions, creating new jobs.

photo by: Richard Gwin/Journal-World File Photo

Steven X. Davis, candidate, 44th District

Steven X. Davis, D-Lawrence (challenger), District 44

Age: 27

Occupation: Freelance Writer, Copy Editor, and Math Tutor

Education: B.A. in Mathematics, University of St. Mary

Tax policy: Do you support the tax policies that have been enacted during Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration? Why or why not? And what changes, if any, would you support?

Absolutely not. We have seen zero economic benefit and the negative consequences keep piling up. Our monthly revenue estimates are off by tens of millions of dollars, and that’s clearly an unsustainable model no matter where you stand on economic issues. It’s easy to blame Brownback for spearheading the cuts, but ultimately the Legislature will have to fix the problem because they were the ones who rubber-stamped them in the first place.

I personally support a restoration of the three-tier tax system and a repeal of the LLC exemption. I also want to see a gradual reduction on our sales tax on groceries, which is the highest in the country. It hurts Kansas businesses that lose revenue to neighboring states and it puts the highest tax burden on those with the hardest time affording basic necessities.

Education policy: Do you believe Kansas currently provides adequate funding for its K-12 public schools? Why or why not?

No, and the Kansas Supreme Court will definitely acknowledge that inadequacy later this year. The incumbent Republicans keep focusing on the numbers, but we actually have to evaluate the outcomes. Anyone can see that Kansas’s education rankings are dropping, that teachers are leaving our state in record numbers, and that our high school graduates are having a harder time earning college degrees.

If we want to address those issues, we’ll have to fund our schools adequately, which means reversing the ongoing revenue crisis. If we don’t start bringing in more revenue, we’re not going to have public schools next year. It’s that simple.

Higher education: Do you believe Kansas currently provides adequate funding for its universities, community colleges and technical schools? And what types of new higher education initiatives, if any, do you believe the state should undertake in the next two years?

Kansas’s public universities play a key role in Kansas’s economy both as research and educational institutions. Funding cuts make it harder for colleges and universities to fulfill that role, and they have been forced to increase tuition to make up the difference.

Our goal should always be to attract the best students and keep the best graduates living and working in Kansas. As our higher education system gets more expensive, we’ll lose more students, graduates, and faculty to other states. State funding for education is really an investment in the future of Kansas.

I think the Legislature needs to consider initiatives to enroll more high school students in college preparatory classes, and for those students not interested in going to college, expand access to vocational and technical training as well as lower-cost community colleges.

Budget policy: Kansas has faced substantial shortfalls in revenues in recent fiscal years, forcing the governor to make allotment cuts and to transfer funds from other programs, including highways. Going forward, what do you think the state’s top budget priorities should be, and how do you propose they should be funded?

It’s a bit misleading for the administration to claim they balanced the budget when they did it by delaying payments to KPERS and “borrowing” from KDOT. Unless we fix the revenue problem immediately, there won’t be a budget to balance next year.

As for priorities, suitable funding for public education should remain a top priority. We also need to expand Medicaid and restructure the disastrous KanCare program to ensure taxpayer funds are being used properly. We could greatly reduce the cost of our overcrowded prisons by treating substance abuse instead of imprisoning people for minor drug offenses.

Of course, in addition to the state’s regular budget needs, we will now have to dig ourselves out of the financial hole that Brownback’s administration has created, by fulfilling our obligations to KPERS and putting money back into KDOT to ensure our roads are still drivable in ten years.

photo by: Richard Gwin/Journal-World File Photo

Tom Sloan

Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence (incumbent), District 45

Age: 70

Occupation: Currently: Farmer, Strategic Planning Consultant. Previously: Asst. Professor of political science at Kansas State University; Associate Director, Kansas State Nurses Assoc., Chief of Staff to Kansas Senate Majority Leader and President, governmental affairs representative for Getty Oil; assistant vice president for KPL; Special Assistant to Secretary of Corrections.

Education: B.A., Syracuse University.; M.A., Michigan State University; Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Tax policy: Do you support the tax policies that have been enacted during Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration? Why or why not? And what changes, if any, would you support?

I voted against the income tax reductions and voted against the increase in the state sales tax. I believe that the state’s residents are best served by a balance of income, sales, and property taxes that adequately funds education at all levels, social safety net and public safety programs, and permits investment in infrastructure for water, highways, and universities. I do not believe that exempting 340,000 businesses from paying income taxes and penalizing lower and middle class residents by increasing the sales tax is responsible.

Education policy: Do you believe Kansas currently provides adequate funding for its K-12 public schools? Why or why not?

No. Previous legislators established a target of 60% of state aid going to the classrooms in K-12 and state aid paying 50% of higher education costs. Action by legislators and the Governor in recent years to include state contributions to the teacher retirement program (KPERS) as part of the K-12 school funding block grant calculations undermines the effort to adequately fund education opportunities.

Kansas Courts have consistently ruled in favor of increased school funding, often citing a study commissioned by the Legislature as demonstrating increased need by educators. The Kansas Constitution states that the Legislature must fund “suitable” education opportunities. Because we do not define what constitutes a suitable education, the argument focuses on dollars appropriated. Legislators and educators must collaboratively define what the state’s responsibility is in terms of programs, and then fund those responsibilities.

Higher education: Do you believe Kansas currently provides adequate funding for its universities, community colleges and technical schools? And what types of new higher education initiatives, if any, do you believe the state should undertake in the next two years?

No. Previous legislators established a goal of paying 50% of higher education costs. Even recognizing that the amount of federal and other grant money that universities receive has increased, the state is not meeting its obligation to fund higher education so that all Kansas students can afford to attend. Education after high school on average means that a person will earn at least twice as much money in his/her lifetime as one who only has a high school diploma. Unfortunately, high student debt upon graduation means that the higher earnings go to student loan repayments instead of to purchase a home, marry and raise a family.

Increased state aid to higher education can come in at least two forms: a) increased tuition assistance, b) increased support for operating costs to reduce the need for tuition increases.

As with K-12 funding, legislators and higher education supporters must engage in defining what the state’s responsibility is and then fund that responsibility.

Budget policy: Kansas has faced substantial shortfalls in revenues in recent fiscal years, forcing the governor to make allotment cuts and to transfer funds from other programs, including highways. Going forward, what do you think the state’s top budget priorities should be, and how do you propose they should be funded?

A majority of legislators abdicated their responsibility to pass a balanced budget, instead increasing the Governor’s authority to make allotments or unilateral budget transfers and cuts. This is wrong. It also is wrong for the Legislature and Governor to balance the budget by moving hundreds of millions of dollars from job creation programs (e.g., State highway program). The loss of investment in private sector job creation undermines efforts to increase state revenues to pay for education opportunities.

The Governor’s income tax initiatives for businesses and the highest income Kansans need to be substantially repealed. Tax reductions for the middle and lower income Kansans can be retained. If the income tax rates are reformed, the state sales tax rate could be reduced and we still would have sufficient revenues for essential state programs.

With opportunities comes success, with success comes responsibilities. Tax policies must be equitable and responsible.

photo by: Richard Gwin/Journal-World File Photo

Jeremy Ryan Pierce

Jeremy Ryan Pierce, R-Lawrence (challenger), District 45

Age: 33

Occupation: Administative Assistant, Executive Assistant

Education: AA from Three Rivers Community College, Studied film at KU and graduated with a BGS in film and media studies in 2011.

Tax policy: Do you support the tax policies that have been enacted during Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration? Why or why not? And what changes, if any, would you support?

In general I think low taxes are a great idea. So I support the tax cuts. If we are entertaining ideas of a new Income Tax, I would be an ardent advocate for a flat tax. Kansans have enough paperwork to do, taxes should be easy to pay, not a struggle. I also think we could ease food taxes and vehicle taxes should we move away from the current model.

It’s worth dwelling on that we have a 3.7% unemployment rate. I’d look at other states in the region before we change much.

Education policy: Do you believe Kansas currently provides adequate funding for its K-12 public schools? Why or why not?

I believe that the initial budget before the courts got involved was fair. The courts were overstepping their bounds, it’s quite troubling to me that the judicial branch would ever attempt to legislate from the bench. What they have done has had the effect of taxing the Department Of Transportaion without representation. I think we had a war about that in 1776. It sets a dangerous precedent that should never have happened.

Higher education: Do you believe Kansas currently provides adequate funding for its universities, community colleges and technical schools? And what types of new higher education initiatives, if any, do you believe the state should undertake in the next two years?

I think that the University System has proven it is adequately funded when it undertakes not only a complete overhaul of Memorial drive, but also ordains to demolish an entire student union in favor of a new building, that even though it was funded by private donations, is less equipped to host student organization events, and should have been in addition to the Burge. I’ll admit that it’s a good tourist destination.

I would like to see many new CRADA agreements that take what was learned by the biodiversity program, and put it to use in better cooperation with private industry. That the Initiative is going away, doesn’t mean the ideas learned should. The International Space Station was an improvement that could not have existed if we were hell bent on keeping Mir and Spacelab.

Budget policy: Kansas has faced substantial shortfalls in revenues in recent fiscal years, forcing the governor to make allotment cuts and to transfer funds from other programs, including highways. Going forward, what do you think the state’s top budget priorities should be, and how do you propose they should be funded?

I think that raiding the highway fund was poor choice. If we are to attract new Kansans, the roads are our image enticing people to come in. We need long term solutions, nor constant band-aids. I have always been more a fan of the quality of roads here than in Missouri. We should uphold that standard.

I believe that education should always be a priority, as such I do see this as an essential part of our budget. I’ll fight to keep Kansas education functioning.

I propose we fund this by standing firm that Legislators and Senators are the ones who vote on, approve, and who are accountable for funding choices. That we only should have to worry, if we suddenly find ourselves being taxed by an unelected body. The money is there, whether some organizations or parties can admit it or not.