I don’t know about you, but I’ve about had it with the “leadership” at both our national and state levels.
I was a Republican until George W. Bush lied and got us into an ill-conceived war with Iraq, bringing on an economic crisis. Then the party started a wild swing to the right that I never bought into. After surviving Bush, Kansas elected Sam Brownback, and he ramrodded us through his economic experience with its “trickle down” theory.
Brownback’s two terms were tough times for education and other social services. I switched from R to D but have voted like an Independent most of the time since. Guess you could say I’m a liberal-leaning Republican, or a conservative Democrat; not very political. I am proud to be a veteran and 100% American.
Now, we have complete chaos at the national level. The executive branch is trying to seize control of our country. I don’t know what “Liberation Day” was supposed to be, but all I saw was a big chunk of my retirement savings being liberated of value.
Aside from the economic mayhem, the more important issue of leaders ignoring our Constitution, which as a veteran I swore to defend, is dividing our country even further. People who attacked our Capitol are heroes, while those who brought them to justice for their criminal behavior are punished.
Hopefully, it looks like at least a few of our members of Congress are gathering the courage to stand up to the administration and say, “Enough is enough.” I was pleased to see that Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran is one of them.
The Republican supermajority in Topeka is also proving to be problematic. Many of these legislators are certainly against public education. They want to control what we teach in our schools and colleges. They ignore and circumvent previous votes of the people. Their main goals, as is the case nationally, seem to be tax cuts for the highest income levels and to expand their personal power at the expense of public services.
As a former community college president, a recent decision made in Topeka related to funding community colleges has really lit my fire. As the Register reported Thursday, four of our 19 Kansas community colleges, Allen Community College included, are being threatened economically by our own state legislature. The state will withhold funds simply because these colleges have reserves that exceed a half year’s expenses.
To my knowledge, there was no forewarning regarding these measures; no chance to plan or debate. In Allen’s case, these reserves have been developed over a 30-year period through enrollment increases, sound budgeting and management, and conservative spending habits agreed upon annually by administrators and the Board of Trustees.
Through planning, the college has been able to pay for expensive upgrades and maintenance from those reserves, as well as build buildings without bond issues, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest. Why on earth should a college be punished for being fiscally responsible?
There’s more: the same legislators who have proposed the reduction in state funding for these four colleges have proposed a state budget that in three years will put Kansas in the hole $460 million. I cheered the Governor’s recommendation to build some reserves into our state coffers. Which approach is more fiscally responsible? The irony is dizzying.
Some of these same legislators have also determined there are “too many” community colleges, especially in southeast Kansas. This has come up every so often in the 50-plus years I have been involved in higher education.
My answer has always been the same. If you close five community colleges and just have one large community college for the area, the only way the state saves money is if there are fewer students. The state pays per credit hour delivered. Is that the goal — fewer educated citizens and a less prepared workforce?
Additionally, the counties in which community colleges reside provide a substantial portion of the revenue. We were always proud of the fact that we could operate the annual budget and some years even put back rainy-day funds, while maintaining one of the lowest mill levies of the 18 counties that have a community college.
Shouldn’t it be the decision of citizens in those counties whether to continue supporting their community college? Does anyone think Allen, Neosho, Bourbon, Labette or Montgomery counties want to give up their college?
It’s a whole lot easier to talk and hold accountable a trustee than a state legislator. You see your trustees in Walmart.
