One of the far left education lobby's favorite tactics is scapegoating Republicans to disguise their own mistakes.
This week, a Kansas school district put
that tactic on full display.
You can read this story for all the background, but here's basically what happened. Republicans last year passed the education block grant, which is designed to act as a stable bridge of funding to a new student centered school finance system. Despite everything that has happened with revenue volatility, Republicans over and over have kept their promise not to cut the record levels of education funding provided by the block grant.
Last fall, officials with the Kansas Department of Education advised school district officials that depending on how property tax values fare, they could receive additional money. Key word: could. Well, some districts, like USD 501 in Topeka, decided to add that possible money into their budget. Now that they found out that money might not materialize because of plunging oil and gas prices--which have affected property tax values across the state-- they're blaming Republicans for "cutting" their budget.
In what universe other than a Bernie Sanders rally does that kind of thinking make sense?
Listen, nothing has changed. The block grant remains fully funded. Property values continue to fluctuate based on a whole host of factors like they always do. And school boards continue to make budget decisions for their district.
This is not a new tactic for USD 501. Last year, they made a very public show out of blaming Republicans for their decision to cut classrooms. Yet, they've increased their spending on administration by 50 percent over the last 10 years. They also awarded hefty raises to administrators last year.
It's pretty clear where USD 501's priorities lie, and it's certainly not with educating students.
