Elk Konnected Hand out at County Commissioners meeting on 4/25

[Ross]

WOW
An almost instant response!
A 19 minute response time, I'm impressed.

Yes, it sure looks like everyone in State Government is very concerned about what is happening with all school funding.

The Response from Mr. Knox minus personal information:





-------Original Message-------

From: Forrest Knox
Date: 6/10/2016 11:23:08 AM
To: ross_lw@
Subject: Re: School Funding

I'll inquire with the experts in Topeka, without your personal info, and let you know what I learn.


Forrest

Sent from Forrest's iPhone

[Ross]

I received an e-mail from State Representative Larry Hibbard which I subscribe to and here is just a portion of it.

On everybody's mind throughout the day was the Supreme Court decision last Friday, telling the legislature that our schools are not equitably funded and if that isn't corrected, they could possibly be shut down July 1st.

Special Session

The inevitable has happened and Governor Sam Brownback has called the legislature back into session on the 23rd of this month to address the Kansas Supreme Court ruling on equity in school finance.  I've been asked several times "what equity means" and I will attempt to give a more down to earth and personal explanation.

Cindy and I have five grandchildren.  Our two youngest, Peyton and Connor, will be attending public school in Basehor, Kansas.  Basehor is a bedroom community in Leavenworth County just outside the greater Kansas City area.  There is rapid development in the area caused basically by young, well-educated families that work in Kansas City and are looking for a quieter and safer place to raise their children.
   
The problems Basehor school district have are basically keeping up with the rapid increase in population and school age children in their district.  Years ago, Basehor was a 1A school but is now a large 4A with expectations to grow.  It takes approximately five years to design, bond, and build a new school.  The high property values in the area help with the finance and getting young teachers to work there is not a problem due to its closeness to shopping, entertainment, and health needs only ten minutes down the road.
 
Our other three grandchildren, Clara, Nick, and Natalie, attend school in Fredonia, a school that is in my district.  Fredonia has had a reputation for years of having a high quality school system with excellent teachers.  That same thing could be said for the other seven schools in District 13 (Altoona-Midway, Eureka, Hamilton, Madison, Neodesha, West Elk, and Yates Center).  The biggest challenge they face is the declining population in rural Kansas and therefore their class sizes continue to get smaller.  The tax base is basically made up of ag land, some oil production, and some manufacturing.
   
The Fredonia administration and board continues to meet the challenges of providing a first-class school system.  This year, they regretfully closed the Junior High School building (6th, 7th, ad 8thgrades) and moved those students to either the High School or back to Lincoln Elementary (the grade school).  The changes do not come without consequences to both the students and the employees, but the tight budgets made it necessary.  The reason for these decisions can be laid in the lap of the state legislature and the governor.  Generating tax dollars in Fredonia, Kansas is not near as easy as it is in Basehor, Kansas.
   
It is my hope and prayer that when we go back to session, that we can fund a school budget that will give all five of our grandchildren an equal opportunity for the best education affordable.
If I can be of help to you, contact me at my home this off-season at 620-637-2454 or by email at larryphibbard@gmail.com.

******************************************************************************

Now you can make the comparison between West Elk and Fredonia, Elk Valley and Central.
You can make a determination as to the equity between Schools.

I do believe it is Central that West Elk recruits Students. I believe the West Elk Superintendent said it cost $8000.00 to educate those students and wanted to raise our property taxes for that purpose. However Central shows a total of cost per student from Property Tax and State Aid and Federal Aid of $15,224.
The numbers are shown below with internet links for verification.


Year      USD #   District Name   County    State   Federal     Local     Total
2015   484              Fredonia    Wilson   $9,220    $783   $2,561   $12,564 per pupil per year.       651 Students      95 Employees
From Web Site:
http://www.kansasopengov.org/kog/databank#report_id=35&Year=2015&USDNumber=484&DistrictName=Fredonia&County=Wilson

Year USD # District Name    County        State              Federal       Local         Total
2015 282       West Elk              Elk         $12,182          $5,271     $7,597    $25,050 per pupil per year.
West Elk does not show 2015 Student or Employee Count on this web site, they show 2005 numbers.
From Web site:
http://www.kansasopengov.org/kog/databank#report_id=35&Year=2015&USDNumber=282&DistrictName=West%20Elk&County=Elk

Year   USD #   District Name   County     State     Federal    Local   Total
2015  283      Elk Valley      Elk    $13,483     $1,177   $3,743   $18,402   per pupil per year.    140 Students      30 Employees
From Web site:
http://www.kansasopengov.org/kog/databank#report_id=35&Year=2015&USDNumber=283&DistrictName=Elk%20Valley&County=Elk   

Year     USD #   District Name   County     State   Federal    Local     Total
2015   462        Central           Cowley   $11,623     $772   $2,829   $15,224  per pupil per year.   310 Students 54 Employees
From Web site:
http://www.kansasopengov.org/kog/databank#report_id=35&Year=2015&USDNumber=462&DistrictName=Central&County=Cowley

[proelkco]

Some of Elk County is in the Central District.

[Ross]

Some of Elk County is in the Central District.

Yes sir it sure is !

Elk Valley extends into Montgomery County!

West Elk USD extends into Chautauqua County !

West Elk USD extends into Greenwood County!

Fredonia USD extends into Elk Count !

Part of Elk County is in the Fredonia, Wilson County, Kansas Post Office Zip Code and mailing address !

For some reason miss your point about boundaries.

Please enlighten us !

[proelkco]

You said West Elk recruits students from Central. Some children from Grenola go to West Elk and some go to Central.

[Ross]

You said West Elk recruits students from Central. Some children from Grenola go to West Elk and some go to Central.

I said West Elk recruits students from Central because the West Elk Superintendent said it cost $8000.00 to educate them.
I was not referring to students already living in the West Elk School District, they don't need recruiting.

I hope that clears up the issue.

[Ross]

To all the folks that signed the Opposition Petition

I need your help!

I just received notice from the Elk County Clerk that once again the number of signatures has changed and that I need more signatures.

Because it was supposedly a mistake on the part of the County Clerk I am allowed to gather more signatures.
There has supposedly been another 500 or 600 registered voters add to the list since last fall.

So here is where I need your help. If you know anyone that has not signed the petition and is a registered voter in the
West Elk School District please call them and ask them to come see me.

I am going to go park at the Dollar General in Howard until 8 pm this evening.

[Ross]

Boy oh boy, was it ever hot out there in the sunshine gathering signatures.

I got about a half hour ago and had to cool down, no air conditioning in my old pickup.
It was like being in a sauna. I think i lost 5 pounds. LOL
And then a cloud raised up and blocked the sun. I simply looked up ad said thank you Jesus.

It was a very good afternoon and evening.
I had a couple of rejections but I graciously thanked them for their time.
I had a couple of non-registered people I spoke with and tried to encourage them to register.
I told them their votes in Elk County are very valuable here in the county. And folks that's the truth;

Any way I was told i needed 21 more signatures and I did much better than i expected.
I got 26 signatures of course they have to be certified, verified by the county clerk.
If I can pick up a few more I will be very happy. Not all signatures may be good that's why I want extras.

I did have a little fun with the School Board President this evening.
He walked by while a gentleman was signing the petition and I said hey aren't you gonna sign my petition.
I think he said yes he would, LOL ! I said awe get out of here thinking he was joking.

When he cane back out of Dollar General we had a talk.
He informed me that he was the only board member that voted against the Resolution/
I'm still wondering if my mouth fell open. Of course I haven't read the School Board meeting minutes because
they are not having them printed in the paper for some reason.

Anyway folks I intend to get this thing done.
I owe it to all those that have signed the Opposition petition.

My sincerest thanks to all that signed.

[Ross]

Good news!

I submitted the Opposition Petition once again.
And I received confirmation from the Elk County Clerk it is good to go.
There was once again an excessive number of signatures of Registered Voters.

To the School Board Members that voted to raise our property taxes in this back door method of a Resolution
I and I am sure the people that signed the petition hope you understand and comprehend this method
of raising our property taxes is not acceptable.

O personally would suggest that you get any further property tax hikes on a ballot and ask the voters in
a more honest and decent manner.

But I don't believe you want to be honest and decent with the voters and will therefore attempt this Resolution
sneaky method again, rest assured I will be watching for it again.

You board members might study and learn the budget inside out and trim the fat or waste
so as to operate more efficiently and effectively.

You board members have only one employee known as the West Elk School District Superintendent
and if you instruct him to show you where to cut the fat and the waste he is required to do so.
The Board needs to show some inkling of leadership and have decent Board meetings.
You can start by removing everyone but Elected Officials from the Board.
It is a simple first step to proper decorum and leadership.

The School Secretary, the School Superintendent  nor the School Principal belong sitting on the Board.
No excuses are acceptable.

The next step towards Leadership is to start live streaming the Board meetings and recording them for
posting on the West Elk USD-282 web site. No excuses are acceptable.

This type of leadership will advance the West Elk USD-282 School Board into the 21st Century.
You are only 16 years late.

Many thanks to the Prairie Star for publishing the following letter:

[proelkco]

Why Mr. Ross does it bother you that some out of district children go to West Elk? Your own son goes out of district so what is the difference? I am not trying to start an argument I am just trying to understand.