WILL THERE BE AFFORDABLE HIGHER ED HERE? Wayne Dean is a 48-year-old single father living in the Kansas City metro area. He has two children, a son, Alec, 23, and a daughter, Taylor, 18. Since 2004 he has worked at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas in the IT Department. He monitors and configures applications used to run the business. When he and his wife divorced, he was awarded custody of the children. His son started school in Kansas City, Mo., but he moved them to Johnson County 14 years ago because he thought the education would be better. Now that his daughter has graduated high school, he’s considering a move out of state. He’s looking at moving to Oregon, where a new education program offers opportunities for college for his daughter. He’d also like to open a small business, but wouldn’t consider doing that in Kansas now. He wants a more urban environment with a thriving art scene and more people who share his political views. Education is really significant in my life. I have an 18-year-old who needs to go to school, and I can’t afford it. I don’t want her to have to take out massive student loans. That’s one of the biggest things that weighs on me. I moved to Kansas so my kids could get a quality education, and I think that’s in danger now. We need to invest dramatically in education because that’s what is going to keep our state thriving. I moved to Kansas for my kids, so I could give them what I thought was a stable environment. I’m as left as you can probably get. I’m single. I’m gay. I’m a dad. I’m all of those things. I’m a liberal living in a conservative state, and I chose to do that, but I’ve always felt like a fish out of water here in Kansas. I don’t regret moving here.” Wayne Dean, 48, Kansas City, is concerned about the cost of higher education in Kansas. 10.
The Journal, Winter 2014
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