By Clay Wirestone | opinion editor
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Kansas GOP candidates for governor attack ‘paper shufflers,’ denounce fraud, argue about Chiefs
TOPEKA — Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlotte O’Hara wants nothing to do with employees at the Kansas State Department of Education or the hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding flowing each year into the state for education of K-12 students.
O’Hara, participating in a GOP candidate forum Thursday in Wichita, said one of her priorities after being sworn into office in January would be to terminate all Department of Education staff.
“They are nothing but paper shufflers,” she said. “We have a constitutional duty to have a state Board of Education, but not a state Department of Education.”
There was no prospect of reforming Kansas public schools without ending the influence of federal education spending, O’Hara said. She didn’t explain how federal dollars could be replaced but argued for a K-12 education system that left decisions to local school boards.
“We have to declare independence and say, ‘No, we do not want federalization of our education,’ ” said O’Hara, the former Kansas House and Johnson County Commission member.
New Hampshire Bulletin
When teens drive less, they don’t register to vote. Here’s how civic groups are adapting.
American teens are driving less than in previous decades, prompting civic advocates to warn that fewer young people may register to vote.
Yet at least one state — New Hampshire — offers insight into how civic groups can work around a lack of registration opportunities to ensure young people can register, as well as the challenges that remain.
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OPINION
Toy Story 5’s ‘Lilypad’ is an indictment of the world that birthed the ‘iPad Kid’
By Aarushi Bhandari
In the trailer for “Toy Story 5,” a little girl named Bonnie is playing with her toys when a package arrives in the mail.
She opens it to find Lilypad, a tablet for children.
As Trump’s immigration dragnet grows, so do complaints of detention center conditions
WASHINGTON — When the overhead lights turn off at the Farmville Detention Center in Virginia, it not only means that night has arrived for Aliaksei Scharbachenia, but that panic attacks will soon follow.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Kansas Reflector staff will participate in the following free public forums.
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.
1 p.m. July 11, South Branch Library in Kansas City, Kansas. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone joins a panel discussion: "Elected vs Appointed: Inform Your Choice." Hosts: Voter Rights Network of Wyandotte County, Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation, the League of Women Voters of Johnson County, and El Centro.
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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