knea legislative questionnaire, june 2008

8/14/2019 KNEA Legislative Questionnaire, June 2008

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K a n s a sA c t i o nC o m m i t t e e

7 1 5 W E S T 10 th .1 ' O P E K . A . K A N S A S 666'I2

June 5, 2008

The Kansas NEA applauds your decision to join th e political process by running fo r election to the Kansaslegislature. This is no small undertaking and we apprec iate the d edication to service to our great statethat is reflected in your decision.Kansas NEA has a proce ss for determining which candidates for public office to recommend to ourmembers. We would like to invite you to participate in that process.Each candidate is asked to complete a questionnaire and to participate in a face to face interview withlocal KNEA members. Candidate responses to both the questionnaire and the interview are used inmaking our decisions.I have enclosed a copy of our questionnaire for your use. If you choose to participate, please completethe questionnaire and send it to the chairperson of our local interview team. (See below.) In addition,please FAX a copy of the questionnaire to my attention at 785-232-6012. Alternatively you may mail acopy to me at KNEA, 715 SW 10 th Ave., Topeka, KS 66612.You will be contacted by the local interview team chairperson about scheduling an interview. Y ou mayalso feel free to call the chairperson yourself.

Local Interview Team Chairperson:PAULBABICH60 4 N BROADVIEW STWICHITA KS 67208-3426316-681-0248 (H )pbabich(o)utw-ks.orq

We sincerely hope that yo u will participate in our process. W e look forward to meeting with you anddiscussing the future of education in the great state of Kansas.Sincerely,

Mark DesettiDirector, Legislative an d Political Ad voc acycc: Paul Babich


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Kansas NEA Legislative Candidate Questionnaire; 2008

House District #:Party:

Cand ida te Name:Addres s :

Phon e :lyiapager:

Candida te Sta tementIn a general statement, please tell us why you seek election or re-election to the KansasLegislature. Please address your b eliefs about public e ducation and public schoolemployees. What do you see as the major challenges facing public schools in Kansas?What role do you intend to play in the legislature in terms of addressing thosechallenges?


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Kansas NEA Legislative C andidate Q uestionnaire; 2008

Ensuring Qual i ty Publ ic Schools for Al l Kansas Chi ldren1. KNEA opposes efforts to enact tax and spending limitations such as the so-called"Taxpayer Bill of Rights" (TABOR ) or "Taxpayer Empowerment Act" (TEA) on theKansas State Legislature or local units of government. Such proposals willseverely limit the state's ability to meet the needs of citizens and react tounforeseen circumstances.

Will you oppose efforts to pass tax and spending limitations includingTABOR and TEA?Yes No

2. The K ansas tax system is no longer providing an adequate revenue stream forthe needs of the state. Tinkering with the sy stem over the years has resulted in asystem that is increasingly viewed as unfair. An an alysis by the independentInstitute for Tax ation and Economic Policy sho ws that low income Kansans pay adisproportionate amount of their income in taxes and residential property ownersare becom ing increasingly frustrated by the reliance on local residential propertytaxes. KNEA believes that the Kansas tax system needs to be overhauled tobring it back into balance and to provide a stable revenue stream for the state inboth good and bad economic times.Will you support the creation of a blue ribbon, no n-partisan com missionto review th e Kansas ta x system an d make recommendations for theimprovement of th e system?

Yes No3. KNEA opposes private school vouchers or tuition tax credits. Such proposals wiltdivert needed resources from public schools. KNEA believes that every child inKansas dese rves a quality public sch ool.

Will you oppose private school vouchers and tuit ion tax credits?Yes No


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4. KNEA oppose s limitations on the Kansas Court system that would hamper theCourts' ability to rule on issues of school finance or to issue a remedy in suchcases. KNE A be lieves the Courts are a necessary che ck on unlimited legislativeor executive pow er and we suppo rt their ability to enforce constitutional rights.Will you oppose constitutional amendments that would l imit the abil i tyof th e Courts to rule or issue remedies in school finance litigation?

Yes No5. Following th e school finance lawsuit, th e Kansas legislature appropriated asignificant increase in school funding for one yea r follow ed by two yea rs ofincreases keeping pace w ith inflation. The net effec t still falls far short of thefunding needs found in the L egislative Post Audit S tudy, the Augenblick andMyers Study, the Kansas State Board of Education findings, and GovernorGraves' 21 st Cen tury Com mission recom me ndations. KNEA believes that it isimperative th at the state make further progress to fully meeting the needs forschool funding AND that the state not revert to a pattern of sub-inflationaryannual increases in school funding. KNEA further believes that in a weakeconomic environment, it is important to, at a minimum, meet inflation to maintainprograms.

Will you support additional funding increases for public education toensure full implementation of the Post Audit cost study funding levels,including funding fo r student outcomes?

Yes No6. Promises made to post-secondary education in Kansas have been suspended inrecent yea rs due to budget c onstraints. As a result tuition rates have increaseddramatically. Despite this, groups such as Americans for Prosperity have calledfor large increases in student tuition at public institutions of higher education. Inaddition, recent changes in the governance of vocational/technical schools haveresulted in the loss of programs and funding challenges for those institutions.KNEA believes that the economic future of Kansas depends on a vibrant publiceducation system from pre-school though graduate school.

What efforts would you support to increase and stabil ize post-secondary education funding to ensure that all Kansas residents haveaccess to affordable, high-quality post-secon dary educationexperiences?


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Kansas NEA Legislative Candidate Questionnaire;2008

Ensuring the Wel l -Being of School Employees7. The rising cost of health care is a great problem for school emp loyees. M anyschool districts pay nothing toward the cost of health benefits and some do noteven offer health benefits. KNEA believes that the state of Kansas must bear

some responsibil ity in ensuring that school employees have adequate,comprehensive health insurance benefits.What role might the legislature take to support school districts inproviding h ealth insurance benefits to employees? W hat would yousupport in this effort?

8. Kansas teacher salaries are in the bottom 20% in the United States. Beginningand career salaries for teaching lag significantly behind comparable professionsin the same geographic markets across the state. Exacerbating the loomingteacher sho rtage in all content areas and grade levels, a large percentage ofKansas teachers are within five years of retirement and enrollment in teacherpreparation programs has been in decline.

What initiatives would you support that would make the teachingprofession an attractive career option fo r young people? Please addresssalaries, benefits, working conditions, and other support systems forschool employees.


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Kansas NEA Legislative Candidate Q uestionnaire; 2008

9. Legislators have recently proposed that certain teachers be given "bonuses" or"incentive pay" based on their license and endorsement. For example, a bill inth e 2008 session would have encouraged school boards to circumvent thecollective bargaining proces s, taking salary funds off the table to provide salaryboosts to only math and science teachers. A new recommendation would do thesame thing for only English as a Second Language teachers.These plans have the effect of paying some teachers more by taking salarypotential away from m ost teachers. They ignore the fact that elementary andmiddle schools also need teachers that have strong backgrounds in math andscience in order to build solid foundations and to encourage students to pursuethese areas of study. Success in math and science relies heavily on strongreading skills. We wa nt the best and brightest in ALL c lassroom s, not just in oneor two content areas.Research shows that pay plans crafted without employee involvement andagreement are less successful in meeting the desired outcom es. KNE A believesthat compensation systems - including any bonuses or incentives - mustbesubject to local negotiations between the teach ers asso ciation and the localboard of education. KNEA further believes that calls for retention incentives areindicative of the poor state of teacher salaries in general and that the appropriateapproach to the recruitment and retention of teachers is first to dramaticallyincrease th e salaries of all teachers. KNEA therefore opposes any effort toundermine the collective bargaining of compensation through legislativemandates.

Will you oppose efforts that weaken collective bargaining bylegislatively imposing or encouraging bonus or incentive pay?

Yes No


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Kansas NBA Legislative Cand idate Q uestionnaire; 2008

10. The long-term viability of the Ka nsas Public Employees Retirement System(KPERS) is of grave concern to all state and school employees. Until recently,the Kansas legislature has not taken responsibility for ensuring that KPERS isadequately funded. As a result, KPERS retirees have not been given a cost ofliving increase and there have been efforts in the legislature to make significantchanges to the system. KNEA opposes changes that would reduce benefits tofuture retirees including any reduction in the benefit multiplier. KNEA alsoopposes changing KPERS from a defined benefit to a defined contributionretirement system.

Will you oppose an y proposals to reduce benefits to current or futureKPERS retirees?Yes No

What actions would you support in an attempt to deal with the KPERSunfunded actuarial liability and allow for a cost of living adjustment forcurrent retirees?


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Strengthening th e Teach ing P rofess ion11 . Kansas has a teacher evaluation system that includes regular assessment ofteachers by school administrators, a probationary period of three years duringwhich a teach er's contract can be non-renew ed, a rigorous performanceassessment, and a due process provision for veteran teachers that protectsteachers from arbitrary and capricious actions. KNEA believes that this system isboth rigorous and effective. KNEA supports efforts to increase support forbeginning teachers through teacher mentoring programs and for veteranteachers through peer assistance programs. KNEA opposes changes to thecurrent system that limit an employee's due process rights.

Will you oppose any efforts to weaken th e teacher due processprovisions in Kansas law?Yes No

12. KNEA supports efforts to guide novice teachers through their first years ofteaching and to assist veteran teachers in improving their practice.Please comment on the role of the state in supporting teacherevaluation, th e Kansas Performance Assessment System, teachermentoring and peer assistance.

knea legislative questionnaire, june 2008

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