OVERLAND PARK, Kansas (AP) – Kansas’ Democratic governor is trying to regain control of the education debate in a tough re-election bid, after Republicans attacked transgender athletes and the content of classroom teaching. Renewed focus on increases in public school spending during tenure,
Gov. Laura Kelly sought Wednesday to paint Republican challenger Derek Schmidt, the state’s three-term attorney general, as a threat to adequate funding for public schools in the second and final debate. Kelly has dubbed himself the “Education Governor” for his support for greater education spending.
But Schmidt emphasized what he called parental rights, or making it easier for parents to challenge classroom material and seek to remove books they deem objectionable from the library, a key issue. Schmidt’s approach is reminiscent of a strategy that helped Republican Glenn Yankin win over suburban parents and win the typically blue Virginia gubernatorial race in 2021. He also blasted the incumbent, saying Kelly allowed students to be “locked out of school” for months during the coronavirus pandemic.
Kelly, a national Republican target, argues that Kansas has increased spending on K-12 schools enough to satisfy multiple rulings by the state Supreme Court in a 2010 lawsuit against the state. Schmidt has said as governor he will ensure the state consistently spends enough money, but as attorney general he has defended past Republican school funding laws that courts have declared insufficient under the Kansas constitution.
“You know, it’s hard for me to take your speeches in public schools,” Kelly told Schmidt during the debate in suburban Kansas City, sponsored by the local bar association.
Kelly tried to link Schmidt to the former Republican governor. Sam Brownback launched a nationally notorious experiment in cutting state income taxes in 2012-13, followed by persistently large budget deficits. Most of the experiments were scrapped in 2017, and the state’s finances have improved significantly since then.
Schmidt mocked Kelly for trying to portray him as a clone of Brownback, saying: “The governor has an unhealthy obsession with her predecessor.”
In a wide-ranging debate, Schmidt also softened his earlier stance against legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, saying broad public support for it would lead him to support a narrow legalization law. Kelly supports medical marijuana.
Schmidt, who supported an anti-abortion amendment to the Kansas constitution that voters rejected decisively in August, challenged Kelly to the restrictions she would support. She didn’t, but said, “Women should have the same bodily autonomy as men.”
But education and school funding are an important issue, especially in vote-rich Kansas City suburbs that use strong public schools to fuel economic and population growth.
The Republican Governors Association sought to undercut Kelly’s appeal to centrists, with TV ads attacking her for rejecting two proposals to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ schools and college sports. Kelly later aired an ad in which she said she did not support men playing girls, leading Republicans to accuse her of lying about her record. She reiterated that statement on Wednesday, saying sports agencies can handle such cases.
Schmidt also criticized Kelly for closing school buildings in the final two months of the 2019-20 school year to check for the spread of COVID-19. He also slammed her veto of a proposed Parental Bill of Rights that would make it easier for parents to challenge classroom material and seek to remove books they deem objectionable, such as LGBTQ-themed novels, from libraries.
Schmidt has pledged to sign such measures and restrictions on transgender athletes within 100 days of taking office. “We can have a state that strongly supports public education — putting parents and students first,” Schmidt said in closing remarks.
Teachers, education groups and Democrats argue that parents can already object to classroom materials and library books. Kelly’s allies held a news conference in Topeka last week to divert the conversation by questioning Schmidt’s record on school funding.
During Brownback’s tenure as governor, the state’s basic aid per student in local schools was nearly flat for five years starting in 2012-13, although its total spending rose slightly to cover other costs, including teacher pensions. Under Kelly, spending has grown nearly twice as fast as her Republican predecessor.
Kansas Supreme Court ruling forces Kelly to increase spending before taking office in January 2019 — as courts repeatedly reject arguments from Schmidt’s office that lawmakers are fulfilling their state’s constitutional duty to provide proper education funding for every child has done enough.
“Everybody remembers what this state looked like four years ago,” Kelly said.
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