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THE IOLA REGISTER Monday, October 14, 2013
NATIONAL
USD 258: A GROWING PLACE
Still no solution for shutdown By DONNA CASSATA Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States moved perilously closer to an economyrattling default and a partial government shutdown entered its third week as Senate Democratic and Republican leaders remained at odds over spending in their last-ditch negotiations to end the crises gripping the nation. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., spoke by phone Sunday but failed to agree on a deal to raise the nation’s borrowing authority above the $16.7 trillion debt limit or reopen a government still shuttered on its 14th day. Congress is racing the clock with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warning that the U.S. will quickly exhaust its ability to pay the bills on Thursday. The reaction of world markets and the Dow Jones today could provide the necessary jolt to Senate leaders, who represent the last, best chance for a resolution after talks between President Barack Obama and House Republican leaders collapsed. The shutdown has furloughed 350,000 federal
By BOB JOHNSON bob@iolaregister.com
HUMBOLDT — Superintendent of USD 258 Schools K.B. Criss told more than 500 Humboldt High graduates Saturday night their pride and support have helped develop a positive and progressive culture for USD 258. He spoke during the biennial reunion of HHS graduates of 40 years and more. Criss said the district’s enrollment had grown each of the past six years, meaning additional teachers and support staff were hired, despite state aid cuts of $1 million over the past three years. “A great deal of the growth has been from families that live outside the district,” he said.
Because of the district’s transformation into a digital-only curriculum, the school library has been transformed into a state-ofart technology center. “It is in use from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. every school day,” Criss said, and “there always are kids still there at closing time.” The interactive program allows for students to ask questions during presentations, Criss said. Humboldt is one of a few districts in the nation to favor technology over textbooks. The transition — iPads and laptop computers have replaced textbooks — had a few glitches at the start, he said, but has settled into a process that will better pre-
More than 500 graduates of Humboldt High School filled the community fieldhouse Saturday night for their biennial reunion. Superintendent of USD 258 Schools K.B. Criss gave an update of the district, including its online-only curriculum, and thanked graduates for their continued support. REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON
See USD 258 | Page A4
See SHUTDOWN | Page A4
Housing project receives funds By BOB JOHNSON bob@iolaregister.com
HUMBOLDT — Humboldt won a $100,000 grant to help rehabilitate its housing stock. The grant was one of 10, totaling $2.1 million, from the Kansas Housing Resource Corporation. All recipients have populations of 60,000 or less. The money also can be used to extend streets, sewers and water systems. In Humboldt, grant mon-
ey will be used by the Housing Action Team, a community group, to purchase one house initially, which will be rehabilitated and then sold. “We want to do five homes,” eventually, said Chris Bauer, a member of local housing team. He explained that once a house is sold, proceeds would go back to a revolving fund, and, hopefully, the housing upgrade project will continue beyond . But, he said, the housing group
understands that purchase and rehabilitation may cost more than what a house fetches on the market, which means funding likely will be depleted. Humboldt applied for the grant, at the request of the housing group, and HAT will administer the project. Humboldt was required to be the applicant of note because grants are made to governmental entities. Stafford County received See HOUSING | Page A2
STATE
School funding dollars at stake By JOHN HANNA Associated Press
I got it!
Isaac McCullough, foreground, avoids a collision with teammate Drew Bastain while vying for a pop-up Sunday in a coach pitch tournament game at Iola’s Riverside Park. The tournament wrapped up the fall season for more than 70 local baseball players. More details about the season are on Page B1. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
Quote of the day Vol. 115, No. 247
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Hundreds of millions of tax dollars for public schools are at stake in a lawsuit before the Kansas Supreme Court, but so is the core of Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s vision for the state. Brownback is banking on massive personal income tax cuts boosting the state’s economy, and his successful push for the reductions makes Kansas a lab for conservative fiscal ideas. But Brownback’s signature policy stands to unravel if aggrieved school districts and students pursuing the lawsuit succeed in forcing a
dramatic increase in education spending. The Supreme Court heard arguments from attorneys last week in the state’s appeal of a lower-court ruling that Kansas must increase its annual spending on aid to its public schools by at least $440 million. Projections from the Legislature’s research staff suggest the state can’t add so much new spending to its annual budgets with the income tax cuts in place. “If the court orders a very large sum of money, it is very difficult to accommodate all of them,” Senate Majority Leader Terry Bruce, a Hutchinson Republican, said of the tax cuts, which he strongly favors.
“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” — Henry Ford 75 Cents
Thirty students and the Wichita, Hutchinson, Dodge City and Kansas City, Kan., school districts sued the state, and their attorneys hope the Supreme Court agrees that legislators aren’t providing enough money to meet their responsibility under the Kansas Constitution to make “suitable provision” for financing schools. The state has faced education funding lawsuits for more than 40 years, and the latest case was filed in 2010 — only 4 years after the last Kansas Supreme Court ruling on the subject. The state’s attorneys argued that the constitution gives See SCHOOLS | Page A4
Hi: 68 Lo: 54 Iola, KS