new group in Allen County aims to promote thoughtful dialogue on current issues and bring intriguing guest speakers to Iola. The Allen County Blue Dot Club — a monthly gathering of pro-democracy citizens — is sponsored by the Allen County Democratic Party.
But don’t let that put you off, encouraged Mike Bruner, chair of the Allen County Democrats.
“Our goal is to encourage civic engagement in support of democracy, no matter your politics,” he said.
The name for the club was born from the idea that some people in rural areas feel like they are a “blue dot” among a sea of right-leaning “red” voters. Despite being sponsored by the Allen County Democrats, Bruner wants to make it clear the group is open to everyone.
“We want to have monthly programs that might reflect some things Democrats are interested in as a party, but to make sure people understand they are welcome regardless of party affiliation,” Bruner said.
JIM PORTER is guest speaker for February.
A Republican, Porter represents District 9 on the Kansas State Board of Education. His background in public education includes time spent as a music teacher, where he taught students from kindergarten to the high school level. He also served as a principal and, later, a district superintendent for 13 years in Fredonia.
Porter first assumed office in 2015, with his current term ending in 2027.
At the February meeting, Porter plans to discuss any pending legislation that may affect schools, as well as any other pressing issues with education in Kansas.
During this legislative session, there have been more than 600 bills introduced pertaining to education, said Porter.
“Maybe 30 or 40 of them will get through,” he said. “It’s difficult to speculate on what will happen with those or the U.S. Department of Education.”
Valuing the postsecondary decisions of students is also something that Porter will touch on. “When I was a kid, there were two tracks you could be on,” he said. “People who were going to go to college, and those who weren’t. It was sort of like two classes of citizenship. That was wrong then, and it is certainly wrong now.”
Porter noted that educators are trying their best to have students develop their interests and passions early on. By doing so, they can have a better understanding of what their talents and interests are whenever they graduate from high school and be better prepared to pursue them.
“Every decision in that case is valued,” he explained. “If it’s to be a surgeon — that’s valued. If it’s to be a plumber — that’s valued. That paradigm has to change and we’re making tremendous progress in that area. Every kid is a first class citizen.”
THE MOST PRESSING issue facing education is the devaluation of public education, said Porter.
“Diverting public money to private entities, or what I call welfare to rich people who can send their kids to private school anyway,” he said. “Tax credit scholarships are going to help people who have a huge income. It’s not going to help poor people.”
