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Students may have test choice
MORE THAN A DECADE IN THE MAKING
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State to recommend ‘hybrid’ high school exam By Peter Hancock phancock@ljworld.com
Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photos
INSIDE THE KANSAS STATEHOUSE looking up, one can view the restoration work on the dome, just part of extensive renovations to the historic structure.
Capitol makeover nears end
State education officials are recommending that Kansas schools shift to a “hybrid� form of testing starting in 2015, requiring elementary and middle school students to take new tests being developed by a multistate consortium, while giving high schools and their students the ability to decide which tests are most appropriate for them. But Kansas State Board SCHOOLS of Education members said Wednesday that they want more information before they are asked to vote on the plan next month, including the possibility of continuing to pay Kansas University’s Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation to develop and administer state assessments. The discussion came one day after the state board received a dismal report card showing student test scores declining in 2013. Please see TEST, page 7A
By Elliot Hughes ehughes@ljworld.com
Man charged in wife’s death will have mental health evaluation
P
erhaps it is hard to believe, but the end of the construction at the Kansas Statehouse — about 12 years’ worth — is nigh. Construction is expected to be nonexistent inside the building by the new year, when work on the roof and visitor center should be wrapped up. Meanwhile, miscellaneous exterior work is expected to be finished in the spring, statehouse architect Barry Greis said. After that, the Capitol will be a finished product. “I really do hope the citizens of Kansas visit the Statehouse and see the transformation that’s occurred,� said Vance Kelley, a partner at Treanor Architects, which has led the restoration effort at the Capitol since it began. Envisioned more than a decade ago as a $90 million to $120 million modernization of the building, the project has since ballooned, with a price tag approximately three times that amount, with the addition of several large projects. The massive makeover has included everything from restoring coloring and stenciling, adding new heating and cooling systems, greater security and restroom accessibility, a new parking garage, visitor center, underground office space
By Stephen Montemayor smontemayor@ljworld.com
THE MULTIPHASE Kansas Statehouse restoration includes work on the first through fifth floors, right, as well as a rehab of the copper dome’s exterior, left.
“
I really do hope the citizens of Kansas visit the Statehouse and see the transformation that’s occurred.� — Vance Kelley, Treanor Architects
Please see CAPITOL, page 2A
The Lawrence man charged with firstdegree murder in the shooting death of his wife last week will be evaluated by a community mental health specialist to determine whether he is competent to stand trial. On Wednesday, Douglas County District Court Judge Michael Malone granted a motion filed by Larry L. Hopkins, 67, and his attorney, Hopkins Christopher Lee, requesting that Hopkins’ competency to stand trial be evaluated before setting any further hearings in the case. “Given the serious nature of the allegations, the alleged facts and the impact this ordeal has had on his well-being,� Lee said, “I think it is paramount to proceed in this fashion.� Please see SHOOTING, page 2A
INSIDE
Partly cloudy Business Classified Comics Deaths
High: 54
2A 5B-10B 9A 2A
Events listings Horoscope Movies Opinion
10A, 2B Puzzles 9B Sports 4A Television 8A
Facing food stamp reality 9B 1B-4B, 10B 10A, 2B, 9B
Vol.155/No.318 32 pages
The Douglas County food bank Just Food is recruiting volunteers to live on a grocery budget of $3.96 a day next week to spotlight the challenges food stamp recipients face. Page 3A
Low: 30
Today’s forecast, page 10A
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