KS - February 18 2025

1. Winter Storm Paralyzes Kansas Schools, Travel as Wind Chills Plunge
2. IRS Plans 1,000 Layoffs at Kansas City Campus
3. New Ag Secretary Rollins Tours Kansas Farms
4. Kansas Legislature Overrides Veto on Trans Care Ban
5. Two opinions on the $450M Wichita school bond election

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1. Winter Storm Paralyzes Kansas Schools, Travel as Wind Chills Plunge

Kansas residents are hunkering down as a potent winter storm sweeps across the state, bringing heavy snow, gusty winds, and dangerously cold wind chills that could drop as low as 30 degrees below zero. The National Weather Service offices in Wichita, Topeka, and Kansas City have issued advisories and warnings through at least Thursday, urging drivers to stay off snow-covered roads and warning of slick conditions and potential blowing snow. In response, at least 78 Kansas public school districts—around 27% of all districts statewide—have canceled classes as of publication time, including major districts such as Wichita USD 259, Blue Valley USD 229, Olathe USD 233, Shawnee Mission USD 512, and Kansas City USD 500. Many schools have also canceled evening activities or shifted to remote learning, while several colleges and universities (including Cowley College and Newman University) have opted for virtual classes. Officials advise Kansans to monitor local forecasts, bundle up in layered clothing, and limit travel until conditions improve.

2. IRS Plans 1,000 Layoffs at Kansas City Campus

Internal Revenue Service employees in Kansas City are bracing for upwards of 1,000 layoffs this week, a mass termination that would rock a major employer in the metro. National Treasury Employees Union, or NTEU, Chapter 66 president Shannon Ellis told The Star on Tuesday that the union had been informed by IRS leadership that probationary employees would be let go, though the agency hadn’t confirmed exact numbers. Ellis said the IRS had already gathered lists of 1st and 2nd-year probationary employees. She estimated that laying off those workers would affect roughly 1,000 people at a minimum on the Kansas City campus located near Union Station.

Article Source: KC Star

3. New Ag Secretary Rollins Tours Kansas Farms

Kansas rolled out its red carpet for freshly sworn in Brooke Rollins, the nation’s 33rd secretary of agriculture. On Feb. 17, she spent time touring several farm operations and met with commodity representatives at the High Plains Ponderosa Dairy LLC, which is located south of Plains. Rollins was an invited guest by senators Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran and First District Rep. Tracey Mann. Marshall and Moran are members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Mann is a member of the House Agriculture Committee. Mann said Rollins was sworn in Feb. 13, and in her first full week on the job she wanted to come to Kansas because of its diversity of crops and livestock production. “Does everyone like my purple?” Rollins quipped, adding she wanted to be properly attired when she went to the heartland where she noted the tie of agriculture to Kansas State University and the land-grant system that was started by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Coming from Texas, she was most familiar with cattle and cotton production and wants to learn about agriculture in all 50 states.

Article Source: HPJ

4. Kansas Legislature Overrides Veto on Trans Care Ban

The Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature on Tuesday overrode the Democratic governor’s veto of a bill that bans gender-transition treatments for minors, fulfilling a longtime goal of conservative lawmakers and joining about half of the country’s states in enacting bans or sharp limits on those procedures. The Kansas bill had broad Republican support, but its status had been uncertain because of the opposition of Gov. Laura Kelly, who said it was “disappointing that the Legislature continues to push for government interference in Kansans’ private medical decisions.” Ms. Kelly vetoed similar bills in each of the last two years, and lawmakers had previously failed to override her. This time, Republicans in both chambers mustered the two-thirds margin necessary to override her and celebrated the decision as following President Trump’s lead on the issue. Kansas had been among the only states where Republicans hold significant legislative power without such a law.

Article Source: NYT

5. Two opinions on the $450M Wichita school bond election

“Yes”  

I would like to encourage all voters to vote “YES” on the school bond issue for USD 259 in the Feb. 25 special election. The Wichita Board of Education has done an excellent job in researching and assessing the facility needs for USD 259. Sometimes, as in this case, facilities are not in the right location for the student population. Cities change over time. The opponents of the bond issue say money should be spent on outcomes. I believe this is what the USD 259 local board is trying to achieve. Passage of this bond issue means that inadequate facilities will not be draining the budget, and that will give the school district the ability to use those dollars to achieve better learning opportunities. The board has figured out a way to close and improve facilities while not increasing your property taxes. This will free up money for educational programs. Not all property taxes are bad, some actually are investments in the future — our children. Invest in the children of Wichita, Invest in the future of Wichita. Vote “Yes” for USD 259 bond issue.   

“No”  

Don’t be fooled by the “zero change in tax rate” claim. The 2008 bonds will not be paid off until 2029 plus the new bonds are $80 million more and assessed property values keep going up. Sadly, new and renovated schools have not and will not improve student achievement. Building fancy new buildings did nothing to improve student achievement. After the 2008 Bond election, Wichita taxpayers spent $430 million to build two high schools, two K-8 schools, and four new or replacement elementary schools, plus 60 tornado shelters. Yet state test scores have gone way down. If this new bond issue is passed, 18 of those schools will be closed and a large amount of the $1 billion we have already invested since 2000 will be wasted. State assessment scores for Wichita K-12 students are now some of the lowest in Kansas. In 2024, only 17.1% were proficient in math, reading and science. These scores are much lower than in 2015 when just 23.1% were proficient. And sadly, only 16% of Wichita high school students who took the ACT test in 2024 had a high enough score to suggest that they would not flunk out of college. During the past 30 years, there have never been more than 51,000 students enrolled in USD 259. When the 2008 bond issue barely passed by 1%, the enrollment was 48,475. In 2024, the enrollment was 47,174. Since 2017, USD 259 has received a 35% increase in tax revenue. The cost per pupil has gone up 43%. It is time for all responsible Wichita voters to vote no on Feb. 25.

Article Source: Wichita Eagle

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Sources

2. https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article300532359.html

3. https://hpj.com/2025/02/18/rollins-gets-look-at-kansas-agriculture/

4. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/us/kansas-transgender-law.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

5. https://www.kansas.com/opinion/guest-commentary/article300508304.html
https://www.kansas.com/opinion/guest-commentary/article300509574.html