When you want to run for a spot on the Wichita Unified School District 259 Board of Education, there is a lot to dissect, understand and complete.
Education
The Wichita Beacon shares local news stories about education. Learn about the news stories affecting you and your community.
Posted inEducation, Kansas State Government
How Kansas lawmakers want to change K-12 education in 2023
Among dozens of Kansas education bills filed in 2023 are proposals to adjust how public schools are funded or make it easier for families to send their children to private school.
Posted inEducation
Safety, teacher retention and ‘school choice’ are on the minds of Wichita teachers in 2023
The Wichita Beacon asked the vice president of United Teachers of Wichita, Mike Harris, to talk about what changes teachers want to see. School choice, safety, teacher retention and staff shortages were all brought up as concerns at the forefront of teachers’ minds.
Posted inEducation, Kansas State Government
Tuition, sports and free speech: How Kansas lawmakers want to change higher education in 2023
Among the sponsored bills are proposals that would make it easier to evade vaccine requirements, require colleges to provide platforms for a wide variety of viewpoints, and make community college and medical school more affordable for students in high-demand areas.
Posted inEducation
Who should be the next superintendent of Wichita schools? You get a say.
Dr. Alicia Thompson will officially retire at the end of the 2022-23 school year as superintendent of Wichita Public Schools. The search for her replacement is in its early stages and there is still time to provide input.
Posted inEducation, Elections
Historic change comes to Wichita school board representation, and more may be coming still
After decades of push, USD 259 is changing their school board elections after two-thirds of voters voted to do so.
Now, each of six districts will vote on their own representative. A seventh board member will still be elected at-large.
However, more change may be on the way.
Posted inCivic Engagement, Education, Elections
How did we get here? School board ballot initiative has roots in century-old fight
On Nov. 8, Wichita voters will get another pass at an issue they last voted on 28 years ago – how Wichita school board members are elected in USD 259. The central issue, however, goes back a century.
The concern is the same now as then: Does allowing the entire city to elect school board members from each part of the city disenfranchise certain groups? Would it be better to allow voters from a smaller geographic district to choose their own representative?
Posted inCivic Engagement, Education
Wichita NAACP, teachers union and other leaders team up to support ballot initiative
A coalition calling itself Vote Local USD259 has organized in support of the school board election reform ballot initiative coming before Wichita voters on Nov. 8. The coalition is urging the public to vote “yes” on the proposed change to how school board members are elected.
Posted inEducation, How To
Want to read a banned book? Here are books that have been recently challenged in the Wichita area
Banned Books Week is coming back to Wichita Sept. 18-24 thanks to the Wichita Public Library, which is highlighting books that get challenged in schools. One event the library is having centers around the book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.” On Friday, Sept. 23, the library will host a special live version […]
Posted inEducation
After decades of court battles, is Kansas school funding functional?
Kansas’ K-12 school funding strategy has been shaped by lengthy court battles over whether the state provides enough money to adequately educate all students. The result is a system that takes into account school size and numbers of bilingual and “at-risk” students, among other factors, when distributing funds to schools. As a new school year […]