Readers react to Kansas school funding, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton

School funding

The Kansas Legislature is desperate, trying to find ways to avoid supporting a public education system that secures our future (4-5, A4, “New proposal to fund Kansas schools emerges”). Cutting extracurricular programs is the latest proposal in their destructive efforts.

But their folly will be evident when they cut band but refuse to eliminate football. No more sports?

Let's get serious and meet our historic responsibility.

Bob Kruh

Manhattan, Kan.

Republican Trump

How do you spell Republican by describing GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump?

R: racist

E: egotist

P: phony

U: unbelievable

B: bully

L: liar

I: inexperienced

C: con artist

A: asinine

N: narcissist

Jane Toliver

Leawood

Clinton is best

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has more experience than any Republican running.

She will be ready on Day One. America has no time for on-the-job training for the next president.

Anything a man can do as president, a woman can do better. Support the first woman president.

Support a proven champion and leader at every level.

Florentino

Camacho Jr.

Kansas City

Tax cut havoc

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says statistics prove his tax policies are working. His critics say statistics show the policies are a disaster.

Our pocketbooks show the following effect of the governor’s tax policies:

▪ Our sales taxes increased, raising the cost of almost everything we buy.

▪ Our property taxes increased.

▪ Our income taxes increased, for some of us to more than they would have been had the governor’s heralded tax cuts not gone into effect.

News stories have documented how the governor’s tax policies have wreaked havoc on budgets for the state, counties, cities and school districts. Add our family to that list.

Russ W. Townsley

Overland Park

Presidential acts

If I were president, I would strive to make sure my fellow Americans had enough to eat, sufficient clothing and decent housing.

I would work to get people to foster respect for one another, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity or religious preference.

I would uphold the ideal of reciprocity. If you take something, you should give something in return.

I would strive to make policies help average Americans. I would work to preserve peace, but I would strive to maintain a strong armed forces.

I would strive to create better mental-health care.

Above all, I would tell the American people how deeply I love them.

This is what every worthy leader should be doing.

Virginia Hudson

Independence

Debate on ruling

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's words in the recent Evenwel v. Abbott case should be heeded by all our elected officials, especially and particularly our president (4-5, A1, “Ruling boosts Latinos' influence”). Ginsburg wrote “...representatives serve all residents, not just those eligible to vote.”

When people are elected to serve in Congress, in the state legislature as local officials and especially president, their oaths are to work for the good of all the people, not just those who voted for them. While “elections have consequences,” as our president has said, one of those “consequences” should not be the disregard of dissenting voices.

Our system of government was deliberately designed to include all of the people and to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority. It is time for our leaders in Washington, D.C., and here to start acting in the best interests of all the people.

Malcolm Carter

Lenexa

Regarding the blatant attempts of Republican conservatives like Sue Evenwel and Edward Blum to dilute the voting power of minorities, I hope for their sake that when they get to the gates of heaven that their fate is not decided by the votes of those they so callously offended.

Eddie L. Clay

Grandview

Doublespeak

The next time you hear conservatives talking about education, pay attention to some key terms and the real message behind them:

▪ Merit pay — Pay the best teachers for good performance. It sounds good, but does every teacher have students of equal ability? Does every teacher have access to equal resources?

▪ Common Core — Conservatives say no to national standards. State legislatures know what’s best for schools in each state. Yeah, right. They’re doing such a great job on other issues.

▪ Accountability — Teachers and administrators need to be accountable for student performance in their schools. Sounds good. But often the term is followed up with proposals to weaken teacher unions and tenure laws. At the same time, conservatives require no accountability from the thousands of parents who are home schooling their kids.

▪ Funding — What they really mean is underfunding so they can give tax breaks to the wealthy (see Kansas).

Richard Johns