Kansas teacher woes getting national notice

The problem of Kansas’ unfilled teaching positions is gaining national attention, and not in a good way.

In her blog, the Answer Sheet, Washington Post reporter Valerie Strauss outlined the factors that are leading teachers to “hotfoot it out of Kansas.”

There’s the pay: The National Center for Education Statistics showed average teaching salary lower than in all but seven states, although not by much in most instances.

Also cited were a loss of job protections and the “severe underfunding for public education” by Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration. Plus the state’s funding formula is “up in the air” after a district court panel rules hat parts of a new school financing law violated the Kansas Constitution.

Finally, critics are upset that the Kansas Board of Education decided in July to allow six school systems to hire unlicensed teachers, an “innovation” that doesn’t sit well with many educators and school advocates.

This story was originally published August 3, 2015 at 1:45 PM with the headline "Kansas teacher woes getting national notice."