Game On for Kansas Schools @GameOnKansas@kcmo.social

Here are email contacts. Dzeck@ksde.org, mdombrosky@ksde.org, dhershberger@ksde.org, chopkins@ksde.org. You can also go click on their links on the KSDE website https://www.ksde.org/Board and see what school districts are in their board districts.

You can view the board meeting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOnLD4Gm8E0. Danny Zeck's comments about the chair not voting start at around the 13 minute mark.

This is what happens when political extremists get elected to boards of education. The good news is that somehow, Hopkins was convinced to change her vote so that Kansas schools and kids could get this funding. If you are in the districts represented by Dombrosky, Hopkins, Hershberger and Zeck, please make your voices heard and make sure your community knows what is going on. Everyone else, get ready to elect reasonable representation in your area in a year and a half.

Commissioner Randy Watson explained that would mean the districts couldn't spend that money and it would have to be returned to the federal government. Herschberger was quoted by Suzanne Perez as saying he didn't "want school districts to get 'drunk' on federal funding that won't always be there." For crying out loud. This is so damaging and such a fundamental misunderstanding and disservice to our students. This is what we're up against.

Melanie Haas was voted chair 6-4 with 6 votes for Haas and 4 for Dombrosky.

Later in the meeting, member Betty Arnold was absent due to a death in her family. The Board was voting to approve some ESSER spending. This vote was necessary for districts to receive the latest distribution of federal funds to help districts recover from COVID difficulties. Zeck voted against the funding, Dombrosky, Hershberger and Hopkins abstained, so the vote failed.

The board counsel and other board members explained that there was a statutory basis for that policy, that all the board members were elected and that denying the chair the ability to vote would deny 10% of the Kansas population a voice at the State Board and make it difficult to pass motions because issues must get 6 votes in favor to pass, which would be even more difficult if only 9 members got to vote. We suspect this is Zeck's desire.

We warned these 4 would form an extremist bloc on the SBOE. We've had our first views of what we can expect for the next two years and should all be on alert about what will happen if they gain more allies in 2 years. Very early in the first meeting, Zeck questioned the chair being able to vote other than in a tie and when it was explained that the chair does get to vote, he asked how they could change that policy.

Kansans, some of your State Board of Education members need to know you are paying attention. Throughout the election season we warned of a hostile takeover attempt of the State Board. Jim Porter held his seat, but two responsible board members were ousted by Cathy Hopkins and Dennis Hershberger in the August primaries, and Danny Zeck won election after Janet Waugh's seat was gerrymandered. Michelle Dombrosky also won reelection over Sheila Albers.

We have A LOT of information posted on our blog here...
https://gameonforkansasschools.com/blog/

More about us here... https://gameonforkansasschools.com/about-us/

Introduction time!
Game on for Kansas Schools is a nonpartisan grassroots effort by a group of parents, teachers, and concerned community members. We believe high-quality public education is a right for all Kansas students. We advocate for Kansas schools to ensure they have the resources necessary to deliver that education to all Kansas students. We inform the community about issues and legislation affecting students in Kansas.

Drop us a line at gameonforkansasschools[at] gmail[dot]com

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