By Clay Wirestone | opinion editor
Good morning! Ah, Monday has arrived with all its usual Monday-ness, Monday-osity and Monday-tude. Kansas Reflector has your back this week, with news and commentary aplenty. Let’s dig right in and see what happens.
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OPINION
Getting school funding right in Kansas matters for students, schools, educators and the rest of us
By Torree Pederson
Kansas legislators are doing something deserving of recognition.
They are working carefully to improve the state’s K–12 funding formula. Specifically, they are focusing on how we support students who receive special education services. This is not easy work. It calls for diligent study, difficult conversations about costs and outcomes, and a willingness to adjust long-standing systems. But it is exactly the kind of work Kansas students need now.
For years, educators and families have pointed to gaps between what special education services cost and what districts receive in funding. Those gaps don’t just exist on spreadsheets: They show up in classrooms, staffing decisions and ultimately in the experiences of students who rely on individualized support to succeed.
When funding falls short or is unclear, districts are forced to make difficult trade-offs that can dilute services for the very students the system is meant to serve.
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State officials demand transparency as businesses get billions in Trump tariff refunds
The fiscal leaders of several states are demanding transparency and consumer fairness as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to refund billions in international tariffs following a recent Supreme Court loss.
In a February decision, the high court dealt a blow to the president’s trade agenda, ruling by a 6-3 margin that the tariffs he issued under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act were illegal.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Kansas Reflector staff will participate in the following free public forums.
6:30 p.m. June 12, Kansas Museum of History in Topeka. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone will join a panel discussion: "From the Desk of William Allen White: What Can Journalism Today Learn from the Sage of Emporia?"
5:30 p.m. June 16, Bradbury Alumni Center at Washburn University in Topeka. Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will lead a discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices. Host: Kansas Appleseed. Register here.
6 p.m. June 24, Groover Labs in Wichita. Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will lead a discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices. Host: Kansas Appleseed. Register here.
6 p.m. June 25, Clint Bowyer Community Building in Emporia. Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will lead a discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices. Host: Kansas Appleseed. Register here.
7 p.m. June 27, Park City Senior Center. Host: Park City Community Pride.
2 p.m. Sept. 27, Red Rocks Visitor Center in Emporia. Host: Red Rocks.
If you're interested in having us talk in your town, email Sherman Smith at [email protected].
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