Inside: New math course for high school grads See A5
Sports: Iola swim team competes See B1
2017 1867
THE IOLA REGISTER Thursday, July 13, 2017
Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
The issues surrounding school funding suit By CELIA LLOPSIS-JEPSEN Kansas News Service
The Gannon v. Kansas lawsuit is in its seventh year. In that time, the case has led to repeated rulings against the state for underfunding schools and responses by lawmakers in the form of appropriations bills. What’s it all about? Here are five issues central to the battle. 1. Significant numbers of Kansas children lack basic math and reading skills.
This is particularly true for
students from socioeconomic groups that are historically disadvantaged, including children from low-income families and children from racial and ethnic minorities. When the Kansas Supreme Court struck down existing
funding levels as unconstitutional in March, the justices emphasized the state’s responsibility to help fix student achievement. Standardized test results show that about one-quarter of Kansas students are struggling with math and reading, the justices noted. That includes half of the state’s African-American students, one-third of Hispanic students and one-third of students from low-income families. The concern that the state needs to provide more re-
sources to support achievement for specific student groups isn’t new. It played a key role in another school finance lawsuit in the early to mid-2000s, Montoy v. Kansas. That case led in part to funding increases that target students with disabilities, from low-income families or learning English as a second language. 2. School resources available to children vary based on where they live.
That’s because local tax
wealth varies. In the context of the state’s school finance formula, there are wealthier districts and poorer districts, meaning districts with more taxable property and those with less. An example: Kaw Valley and Royal Valley, neighboring rural school districts north of Topeka that serve about 1,200 and 800 students respectively. Kaw Valley has one of the strongest tax bases in the state relative to the number See LAWSUIT | Page A3
GI Bill expansion approved By HOPE YEN The Associated Press
return electric service to the building, as well as to one of the light poles surrounding the ball diamond. Council members agreed that having the ball park humming with activity over the weekend was a welcome sight. “And they cleaned up everything before they left,” Councilwoman Sharlyn Thompson added. Thompson credited tournament organizer Brian Rutherford for the tournament’s success. “He was out there for two days working the diamond to
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Republicans and Democrats have reached initial agreement on the biggest expansion of college aid for military veterans in a decade, removing a 15-year time limit to tap into benefits and boosting money for thousands in the National Guard and Reserve. The deal being announced early today is a sweeping effort to fill coverage gaps in the post-9/11 GI Bill amid a rapidly changing job market. Building on major legislation passed in 2008 that guaranteed a full-ride scholarship to any in-state public university — or the cash amount for private college students similar to the value of a scholarship at a state college — the bill gives veterans added flexibility to enroll in college later in life. Veterans would get additional payments if they complete science, technology and engineering courses. The Associated Press ob-
See LAHARPE | Page A3
See GI BILL | Page A6
Volunteer Ryan Barney uses a Kubota tractor to pull a load of gravel into a pit for better drainage below what will be a refurbished sand volleyball court at the LaHarpe City Park, one of several improvements to the park’s facilities. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
LaHarpe City Park improvements continue By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
LAHARPE — The addition of a zipline and other playground equipment to the LaHarpe City Park has brought increasing numbers of visitors of all ages, City Council members noted Wednesday. With increased usage, local residents have set their sights at improving the park’s other amenities. The LaHarpe PRIDE Committee is in the midst of refurbishing a sand volleyball court, having dug out the original play surface, and added flexible pipe and a
thick layer of rock to provide better water drainage. Sand and a new net will be added in short order. PRIDE also will repaint the interior of the park’s shelter house this weekend, weather permitting. Meanwhile, a group of softball enthusiasts has begun upgrading the park’s ball diamond, which sat idle for several years before being used for the first time for an overnight tournament last weekend. The organizers are seeking to use the diamond regularly for tournaments, and perhaps add a girls softball league, Councilman Ron
Delaware-sized iceberg breaks off of Antarctica WASHINGTON (AP) — One of the biggest icebergs ever recorded, a trillion-ton behemoth more than seven times the size of New York City, has broken off of Antarctica, triggering disagreement among scientists over whether global warming is to blame. The event, captured by satellite, happened sometime in the past few days when the giant chunk snapped off an ice shelf. While such “calving” of icebergs is not unusual, this is an especially big one. It covers an area of roughly 2,300 square miles, more than twice the size of Luxembourg. Its volume is twice
An iceberg roughly the size of Delaware broke off Antarctica’s ice shelf this week and began drifting into the ocean. This is what it looked like in November 2016. NASA/ZUMA PRESS/TNS
that of Lake Erie, according to Project MIDAS, a research group based in Britain. It broke loose from the See ICEBERG | Page A6
Knavel Sr. said. They’ve offered to do needed repairs to the diamond’s backstop and fence, provided the city pays for materials. Council members agreed to spend up to $1,000, using proceeds from the sale of the city’s old digger truck. And while that’s going on, city employees are repairing water lines to the park’s concession building — after all, what good are softball tournaments without the essential cold drinks and hot dogs? — and electric service will be restored soon. Council members agreed to contact J&C Electric of Iola to see what’s needed to
‘Hyperpartisan’ letter to state employees decried By JIM MCLEAN Kansas News Service
The head of an organization that represents Kansas state employees is criticizing Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration for using a state agency to deliver a political attack on the Legislature. Robert Choromanski, executive director of the Kansas Organization of State Employees, said it was inappropriate for the administration to send an email to employees of the Kansas Department for Children and Families that criticizes lawmakers for raising taxes. “It was such a hyperpartisan email,” Choromanski said, adding that politics belongs on the campaign trail,
not the inboxes of state employees. Choromanski said complaints from several KOSE members who work for DCF alerted him to the email, which he shared Tuesday with several legislators and media outlets. “They were appalled that they (the administration) would be so political,” he said. The email, written in the form of a memo with a subject line of “Smaller paycheck, bigger government,” also went to a general audience, including the media. Written by Melika Willoughby, communications director for Brownback, the memo stated: “The 2017 legislative session is now over, but the pain to your pocketbook
Quote of the day
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
Vol. 119, No. 180
75 Cents
— Winston Churchill
is just beginning. This le gislature made history to the tune of a $1.2 billion tax hike on working Kan- Willoughby sans.” The memo went on to say that “spend happy” lawmakers misled the public by saying the tax increases were needed to address shortfalls of more than $900 million in this and next year’s state budgets. “That is simply false,” it states. “They chose to spend brand new dollars, more than $200 million, on a legislative wish list.” That wish list included See LETTER | Page A3
Hi: 96 Lo: 72 Iola, KS