Rep. Fred Gardner, R-Garnett, is settling into his seat in the Kansas House of Representatives.
The freshman legislator has introduced a bill to add the Lehigh Portland quarry and trails to the state park system, and has been working hard to keep abreast of numerous issues facing state lawmakers this session.
Chief among them are bills concerning education and taxes.
In regard to education, last week lawmakers bundled some measures into one bill, Senate Bill 83. The House has discussed similar proposals.
The bill includes a controversial proposal to allow state tax dollars to fund private schools, along with an increase in state aid for special education in public schools and a mandate that some public school budget increases should include raising teacher salaries.
Superintendents across the state, including those in Allen County, have spoken against a proposed voucher plan that would give families $5,000 per year in state tax dollars to pay for education savings accounts to fund home schools or go toward tuition to private schools. Educators say that will hurt public schools, particularly in rural areas hurt by declining enrollment.
The voucher program doesn’t change the funding formula, Gardner argued, but admitted it could lead to the creation of more private schools or home-schooling operations.
He’s more concerned with helping students succeed, particularly after the learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Changing enrollment isn’t as big a factor in my mind. We’re not the first state to consider this (voucher program). When you look at states where this has been implemented, particularly Florida, and when you look at student achievement, students in private schools succeeded at a much higher rate and scores for students in public schools also went up.”
He shared statistics from the Kansas Department of Education showing that since the pandemic, about a third or more of public school students are below grade level in English and math, while just 15-18% of private school students were at the same benchmark. Only about a third of public school students are prepared for college compared to half of private school students, according to his research.
Gardner does not serve on the House education committee but served eight years on the school board in Garnett.
“I have benefited greatly from the public education system and I am not here to dismantle the public system. But it is struggling and I don’t blame that on our boards, administrators or teachers,” he said.
“We had a significant cultural shift and as a result, we’ve got a high percentage of students who are not succeeding. Somebody’s got to come up with a plan.
“The data indicates that students that get into private school succeed at approximately twice the rate of kids in the public school system. For those parents who want their kids in private school and can do that, why would we shut that door? Why are we so fearful this is going to wreck the public system? It won’t.”
GARDNER believes in doing his research, and he’s willing to vote against others in his party if he feels a bill doesn’t serve the interests of those in the 9th District.
