Wichita School Board, Dist. 3

(A letter to the editor)
This is about the increase in YOUR taxes

         What will we have in 20 years for agreeing to an additional $350 million in bonds plus interest?  Will we have better students?  Will the establishment we have in place now have spent the bond money on brick and mortar, but not done anything to really change what is important, the EDUCATION of your children, or grandchildren, attending Wichita Public Schools?
            If future behavior is forecast by past behavior, then we will have a bigger problem in another eight years.  If we allow the present administration to spend bond money and do not demand improvement in performance, which can be shown in graduation rates and student performance numbers, then we are increasing taxes without good reason.  In 2000, our community agreed to a bond issue of $285 million plus interest.  Now eight years later, the same administration wants another $350 million plus interest, with fewer students and no guarantee there will be an increase in graduation numbers or increased test scores on the state assessments. This is shameful!  Another aspect to consider is that your tax money is spent on aesthetically pleasing buildings, but we must have police officers in the halls of our middle schools and high schools to maintain order.  It is unfortunate the school teachers and staff can not maintain discipline in the classroom. Some students are so disruptive that law enforcement officers are needed so good students can attempt to pursue an education. 
            You and I must demand better performance now.  Wichita Public School’s graduation rates are about 16% below that of the State of Kansas graduation rates.  The perception that money will repair the problems this school district has is irrational.  The scale and size of Wichita Public Schools is such that our community should be enjoying a big savings over that of other school district’s operations.  Instead, we are faced with higher costs. It is outrageous that the price of educating a student in Wichita Public Schools  is $12,035. Maize Public Schools has a price tag of $9,430 per student.  Wichita Public Schools has more employees per student than any other school district in Kansas. 
            A sociological study of Wichita Public Schools needs to be commissioned.  Why would the citizens of Bel Aire want to educate their kids at the cost of $12,035 per student, when the Circle district can do the job for $9,181 per student?  The constituents of Wichita Public Schools are getting what we deserve, because we have not demanded accountability of quality education and fiscal responsibility from Wichita Public Schools.  Making the dilemma of Wichita Public Schools worse is the fact  that new school buildings will not solve the lack of education we see in so many students that are graduating and of the students who make the unfortunate decision to drop out, because their educational needs were not fulfilled.  Now is the time for the Wichita community to stand up and say NO to spending more money on the educational shortcomings of our students entering and exiting Wichita Public Schools.

John Stevens

8,000 Students Need
Your Help

Within the next 10 years Wichita will face a huge labor shortage. We currently are not educating enough students to fill the needed positions in teaching, nursing, aircraft and other important industries.

World wide changes are coming over the next 20 years that are so great that we must prepare our students in order for them to prosper in this new world. China and India will have, at the current rate of growth, a combined economy larger than that of the United States. With populations in excess of 2.3 billion total, they are becoming free enterprise minded while our own students are no longer being taught the benefits of a free enterprise system. Unless something changes in our own education system our students will be prepared for a world that no longer exists.

Happy teachers are becoming rare. Discipline problems in our schools make it impossible for teachers to teach and students to learn. We should have a new civil right, “LEARNING” where the teachers have authority in the classroom to teach without having to pay more attention to the bad students than the lessons. Misbehaving and difficult students who are not teachable because of bad behavior should be bused to special schools so the well behaved students can learn.