Montgomery County Commissioners seem to be taking retaliatory action against Montgomery County Clerk Ami Standridge in the county’s revised budget, after Standridge discovered the commission failed to follow Kansas statute when voting to raise taxes. On Sept. 29, 2025, at the regular commission meeting, Standridge explained to Montgomery County Commissioners that when they voted to […] The post Montgomery County Commission appears to retaliate against clerk over RNR hearing fiasco appeare...| The Sentinel
Government entities are prohibited from spending more than the budget they publish, so they routinely budget more than they will actually spend to stay under their limit. A little wiggle room may be understandable, but too much can lead to unnecessary property tax increases. A print-only article in the Anderson County Review found an example […] The post USD 365 Garnett: a study in how better budgeting can prevent property tax increases appeared first on The Sentinel.| The Sentinel
Contrary to the law — and claims that non-citizens and illegal immigrants cannot vote — it appears the former Des Moines, Iowa, Superintendent of Schools Ian Andre Roberts, who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, had registered as a Democrat in Maryland. On September 26, 2025, Roberts, a Guyanese national who headed the Des […] The post Des Moines school superintendent was an illegal alien registered to vote as Democrat in Maryland appeared first on The Sentinel.| The Sentinel
You might think that the State Board of Education would be laser-focused on addressing the serious literacy problem in Kansas. The map below shows that more than 150,000 students in Kansas have a limited ability to read and may be functionally illiterate. Rather than address the issue, the State Board of Education and the Kansas […] The post KSDE, State Board of Education ignore state literacy law appeared first on The Sentinel.| The Sentinel
The 2024 test results from the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as “The Nation’s Report Card,” show a depressing, continuing downward spiral in American education. But, as first reported in The Daily Signal, the states of Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee are bucking the trend and showing continuing improvement. Education experts say […] The post Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee show NAEP reading & math gains; Kansas faulted for...| The Sentinel
The Kansas Supreme Court has upheld a 2021 law shielding workers who refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine over religious objections. According to the Sunflower State Journal, the court reversed a lower court ruling by Johnson County Judge David Hauber, who found the state law was preempted by federal law as part of a challenge […] The post Kansas Supreme Court upholds 2021 religious exemption law appeared first on The Sentinel.| The Sentinel
COLDWATER, Kansas — The Comanche County school board president whose car was recently shot up is declining to answer questions about the case — or the sexual harassment case which appears to have precipitated it. On Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, USD 300 Comanche County School Board President Kelly Herd’s car was struck by 10 bullets […] The post Comanche County school board president declines to answer questions about shooting appeared first on The Sentinel.| The Sentinel
A new report from the Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit has found a troubling lack of security control over access to school district finances and accounting systems. LPA reviewed the accounting system access controls of 20 districts and found “only some had adequate access controls for their accounting systems, and very few had adequate […] The post Audit finds disturbing lack of security controls on school district accounting systems appeared first on The Sentinel.| The Sentinel
The Kansas Constitution (Article 11, Section 1) stipulates that “the legislature shall provide for a uniform and equal basis of valuation and rate of taxation of all property subject to taxation.” But that is not happening, according to several witnesses testifying about property tax before the Special Committee on Taxation last week. Jennifer Williams, a […] The post Legislators hear property tax issues: land value manipulation, businesses fleeing Kansas and voter demands for reform ap...| The Sentinel
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services division has apparently followed through on a threat to withhold a roughly $10.4 million payment to the state of Kansas for SNAP benefits. According to a release from Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, over the weekend, the USDA carried out its threat and took […] The post Feds follow through on threat to withhold SNAP funds appeared first on The Sentinel.| The Sentinel
Blue Valley Superintendent Dr. Gillian Chapman wrote to parents last week, stating that the community “deserves honest, informed conversations about public education.” Most of what followed was anything but honest. Chapman’s email was prompted by an opinion in the Kansas City Star by paid contributor Patrick Tuohey, entitled “Blue Valley schools are flush with cash. […] The post USD 229 Superintendent Dr. Gillian Chapman deceives parents on achievement and funding appeared first on ...| The Sentinel
The board voted 5-2 in favor of recommending Katie Allen resign, but it cannot force the issue by law.| The Sentinel
A surprising number of employees received double-digit pay increases.| The Sentinel
Holding Media & Government Accountable.| The Sentinel
Katie Allen says she regrets saying Charlie Kirk's murder was "well deserved."| The Sentinel
There is no statewide policy on the use of cellphones in Kansas schools.| The Sentinel
The transparency focus of Truth in Taxation legislation prompted over half of all Kansas taxing authorities to not increase tax revenue.| The Sentinel
By a vote of 6-1, Johnson County Commissioners ignored taxpayers and raised property tax by 6%.| The Sentinel
Truth in Taxation hearings in Johnson County start on August 20.| The Sentinel
Attorney says the alleged killer should have been imprisoned for crimes committed in Anderson County.| The Sentinel
The audit found multiple shortcomings with the Dept. of Education, and KSDE hasn't said if district officials are complying with state law.| The Sentinel
Parents won't know that one-third of students are reading below grade level with the new performance level descriptors.| The Sentinel
Both laws are designed to ensure better outcomes, but state and local bureaucracies don't want to follow them.| The Sentinel
Harwood falsely said a Safe & Secure Schools Grant to private schools violates the constitution.| The Sentinel
Commerce Secretary David Toland complains about being audited rather than resolve the discrepancies.| The Sentinel
Property owners should have received their revenue-neutral rate notices by now, showing proposed tax increases for each taxing authority.| The Sentinel
Wyandotte County Commissioners have multiple opportunities to avoid a tax increase.| The Sentinel
Open enrollment gives students better opportunities to learn, but education officials say it creates too much work for them.| The Sentinel
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly sent her children to a private school but she won't give that opportunity to less fortunate parents and students.| The Sentinel
Many Kansas legislators are unwilling to vote on school choice despite 150,000 kids having a limited ability to read.| The Sentinel
The federal grants on hold in Johnson County total $2.8 million, but those districts have $237 million in cash reserves left over from prior years.| The Sentinel
Governor Kelly won't respond to questions about state subsidies and hiring delays at the Panasonic electric battery plant.| The Sentinel
About 11% of Kansas students scored a "3" or better on advanced placement exams, while the national average is more than 22%.| The Sentinel
The state school board wants to protect its authority but parents and legislators are disturbed by persistently low student achievement.| The Sentinel
Lansing board member Amy Cawvey proposes a contract revision to comply with guidance from AG Kris Kobach.| The Sentinel
KSDE won't say why it is changing contract language to include gender identity in the anti-discrimination section of its lunch funding contract with school districts.| The Sentinel
KSDE attributes the miraculous ump to "fixing a misaligned system, not reducing rigor."| The Sentinel
Kobach says Governor Kelly's 2019 Executive Order referencing gender no longer applies..| The Sentinel
Political horse-trading and 2026 election aspirations scuttled major property tax relief.| The Sentinel
The LPA audit confirms that KSDE and school officials ignored the 2019 audit, which found willful noncompliance with state law.| The Sentinel
Kansas school board chair Kathy Busch wrote a guest column for the Kansas City Star, in which she makes multiple contradictory claims about funding and student achievement.| The Sentinel
KSDE proposed performance level descriptors like Identified Need and Working Toward Expectations in February instead of Levels 1 and 2 in February.| The Sentinel
The free legal hotline is provided by School Boards for Academic Excellence.| The Sentinel
The proposed education tax credit would be $8,000 per student for those attending an accredited private school.| The Sentinel