KANSAS FAMILIES UNITED

FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION PAC
QUESTIONNAIRE

Candidate’s Name:      Walt Chappell, Ph.D.                      

Party Affiliation:         Democrat                  

How long have you lived in the State and/or District you are running in?   Born & raised in Kansas and lived in the 8th State Board of Education District off and on since 1955.

Did you attend public school?    Yes   Do/or did your children attend public school?   Yes

Introduction:

            Educational issues have been high on my list of priorities for decades.  I have taught various subjects at the K-12 and post-secondary level.  Plus, teaching runs in my family.  Both of my Grandmothers were teachers.  My parents also taught in small rural Kansas schools then in Wichita the rest of their professional lives.  Mom was an officer in the Wichita KNEA and served as State President of the KNEA Retired Teachers Association.  Even one of my daughters and her husband are currently teaching in Kansas.

In addition, I was elected to serve on a School Board and headed the District budget process.  I have also served on the faculty at 3 universities and 2 colleges.  And, as owner of a private business, I have completed educational projects in 16 States involving over 700,000,  K-12 students.  Furthermore, I have served as the Budget and Planning Director for a 6-State Federal Project which included 125 Midwestern schools.

With over 30 years of public service experience—at the local, county, state, national and international level, I understand high priority issues and how to build coalitions to get them resolved.  Serving in the Kansas Legislature will allow me to use my leadership skills and experience to focus on education issues like providing an equal educational opportunity for each K-12 student, recruiting and retaining teachers, and helping our teachers with group health plans.

1) Did or would you vote to fund public education statewide at the level recommended by the Augenblick & Meyer Education Suitability report or the Legislative Post Audit Study commissioned by the Kansas Legislature?

Answer:  The School Finance Formula which has been used for decades by the Kansas Legislature to fund K-12 education does not meet the needs of students to learn or teachers to teach.   The Augenblick and Meyer study was based on interviews and did not collect any data to determine the actual cost of teaching each student nor did it have a clear definition of a “suitable education.”  

The Legislative Post Audit study did a better job of attempting to assess the cost of educating our students.  Yet, the definitions of At Risk students, a suitable education and the methodology used to determine the total cost did not equalize the distribution of State funds. 

Neither study took into account the nearly $300 million dollars per year which could be saved in Kansas by re-districting the hundreds of tiny school districts into cost effective units of 10,000 students or more.  By reducing administrative, transportation, Special Education and maintenance costs, the dollars which are already appropriated by the State Legislature should be more wisely spent.

Therefore the issue is not how many more dollars should be appropriated, but rather how can we assure that each K-12 student gets an equal educational opportunity to learn—regardless of where their parents happen to live.  We need a new School Finance Formula and a significant reduction is duplicated and wasteful spending to make sure that the tax dollars already allocated are used wisely.

2) Will you commit to opposing vouchers, tax credits or any other diversion of tax dollars from public schools to private schools? If not, please explain.

Answer:  I do NOT support using public tax revenue to fund private schools.  However, if parents want to pay for private education for their children, that is their right in a free society.  I also support efforts to reform public education to help teachers and students have classrooms which are conducive to learning and curriculum which teaches K-12 students practical, employable skills to compete in the world economy.

3) Based on the funding crisis facing Kansas’s public schools, how would you rate your level of support for the following options? Please indicate your level of support, with 5 representing the highest level of support and 1 representing the lowest level of support.

Strongly Disagree       Disagree          No Opinion     Agree  Strongly Agree

1                           2                             3             4                 5

State property tax increase?          1   

Sales tax increase?           5    

Income tax increase?       5    

Sin tax increase?             2      

Cut other state programs?          2          

If you agree what programs would you cut?

4) Kansas ranks in the bottom 10 states for teachers’ salaries. What is your stand on teachers’ salaries and what is the state government’s role in this?

Answer:  I strongly support raising teachers’ salaries in most school districts to help attract and retain more teachers.  With the increases in funding provided during the past three legislative sessions, it is very important that a significant portion of those new tax dollars be spent on rewarding quality instruction.

5)  Would you expand gaming revenues to include slots, if the proceeds went solely to education?

Answer:  NO!  Paying for the education of our children on the backs of people who can not afford to loss money while gambling is no solution.  Also, gambling revenues are not a reliable source of income for such an important public priority.

6) Would you vote to increase the Local Option Budget? If so, to what percentage?

Answer:  No.  Funding to provide each child with an equal educational opportunity is a State Constitutional responsibility.  There are 300 different school districts in Kansas with vastly different property values from which a fixed LOB would provide additional revenue.  So, increasing the LOB only increases the funding disparity between districts. 

Instead, I favor the use of Sales and Income taxes collected by the State to pay for the learning needs of each student who attends specific schools.  With the school building as the cost-center of education, we can truly distribute State revenue appropriated by the Legislature back to each school.  Only then will all the K-12 students in the State have an equal opportunity to a quality education.

I invite you to read the attached School Finance Model which I have developed and submitted as part of an Amicus Brief to Judge Bullock.  It provides a distribution of State dollars based on the learning needs of students attending each school and was referenced by Judge Bullock in his Opinion in the case which is now before the Kansas Supreme Court.

7) Would you require an increase in the Local Option Budget to be equalized by the state?

Answer:  As I have stated in my answer to question 6, the use of Local Option Budgets actually increases the inequity between school districts because of the vastly different assessed value of the property within their boundaries.  Equalizing educational opportunity must come from State tax revenues.  Adding more property taxes on Kansans with limited or fixed income is putting people out of their homes.  There are other ways to fund public education.

8) Do you support biblical creationism, or intelligent design theory, as an alternative or in addition to the evolution theory in the science curricula

Answer:  Absolutely NOT!!

9) What is your view on the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding the current school finance system?

Answer:   The Supreme Court and Judge Bullock have heard and read the facts in this lengthy case.  Based on the evidence presented, they have reached a sound decision.  However, it is too simplistic to say that more money is needed before ways are found to spend the tax dollars already appropriated more effectively.  It is now up to the legislature to change the school finance formula, make the hard decisions to redistrict and combine the numerous small school districts and truly assure that each K-12 student has an equal educational opportunity to learn.

10) What are your views on providing a public education for the children of undocumented immigrants?

Answer:  All children have a need to learn.  However, it is not the responsibility of the tax payers of Kansas to pay to educate students who sneak across the border without legal entry into the USA.  If their parents have permission to enter the USA and are legally permitted to work plus pay taxes, then they should be allowed to enroll their children in Kansas schools.  In many districts, this influx of undocumented immigrant children is a major financial burden on schools, hospitals, law enforcement, and welfare services.  So, it is very important that the State Legislature and Federal Government develop a balanced and fair immigration policy.

11) Did you or would you support instate tuition for Kansas students who graduate from a Kansas High School but have not yet obtained citizenship?

Answer:  The Universities and Community Colleges in Kansas have strict guidelines which must be applied to all students whose parents are not legal residents of our State.  Students from surrounding states and countries around the world pay out-of-state tuition.  If there is to be an exception to these rules, then the Legislature needs to establish criteria based on legal residency for at least 3 years prior to entering post-secondary education.  

12) Do you or would you support a Constitutional Amendment that would prevent the Supreme Court from enforcing its rulings in the event the legislature would fail to abide by Article 6 of the Constitution?

Answer:  NO!!  The 3 branches of government each have important roles to play in providing quality education to Kansas students.  The courts have been involved in trying to equalize educational opportunity for each K-12 student since Serrano vs. Priest was decided by the California Supreme Court in the early 70’s.  There are now over 30 States where school finance litigation is pending or being enforced.

So, Kansas is not alone in this effort to make sure that quality, equitable education is provided to each K-12 student.  For a few politicians in the Kansas Legislature to try to force a Constitutional amendment to keep the Courts from hearing the facts and resolving the long standing funding inequities is not only a breach of the “Separation of Powers” which helps keep our Democracy strong, but it is a total waste of time and the public’s money.  Instead, I intend to spend my time on this issue working with the Courts, teachers and other leaders to find solutions to the vast educational funding inequities throughout our State.

13) What alternative proposals would you present to adequately fund public schools? (Please use an additional sheet if required.)

Answer:  I first started working professionally on school finance issues during my Doctoral studies at Michigan State University.  Then, after Serrano vs. Priest was decided, I was a consultant to the California Legislature in the early 70’s to help make sure that each student has an equal educational opportunity.

            In the current case before the Kansas Supreme Court, I have submitted an Amicus brief which provides a new school finance formula.  The budget process should START with the teachers in each school identifying the learning needs of the students they will teach next fiscal year and the instructional resources needed to educate each student to State and Federal standards.  With Kansas schools as a Cost Center of education, the new formula puts students and teachers first and eliminates the vague and non-educational weights which artificially manipulate the dispersement of funds.  (See my attached School Finance Model as submitted to Judge Bullock.)  I have also made recommendations to the Kansas Legislature and Court to redefine the definition and funding criteria for At-Risk students.  (See my attached suggestions.)

            Only after the true costs of educating all students are know, will it be clear how much additional funding is needed.  Neither of the two studies to date or the current school finance formula provides cost data from the school level where teaching and learning takes place. So, I will work hard to get the vital input from teachers in each school to be able to assure that Legislative appropriations are truly going to the classrooms and students who need additional funding the most.

14) Would you support legislation to require qualifications for the Commissioner of Education position?

Answer:  Absolutely!!  There should be specific qualifications to be hired to serve as Commissioner of Education.  However, the problem is much broader. 

The education of K-12 students is one of the highest priorities in any State.  In Kansas, it consumes approximately 2/3rds of the State budget.  Yet, there is little if any accountability for how those funds are spent or whether our K-12 students are learning. 

As it is now, the State Board of Education only distributes funds which are appropriated by the Legislature, sets some standards for what students are to learn with those funds with little authority or input to how school districts actually spend the money.  Consequently, there are vast differences between schools within districts and between districts throughout our state in levels of funding, resources to teach and student achievement. 

15) How would you describe your overall political philosophy?

Answer: Moderate, balanced, thoughtful, base decisions on facts and input from all sides.

Printed name:      Walt Chappell, Ph.D.      

Phone:    (316)838-7900        

E-mail Address:  ChappellHQ@chappell4ksboe.com

Website:  http://www.chappell4ksboe.com