Science, not politics, must lead us in reopening Kansas schools

On July 22, the Kansas State Board of Education voted 5-5 to block Gov. Laura Kelly’s executive order delaying the start of public school three weeks, or until just after the Labor Day weekend.

The Mainstream Coalition stands in opposition to this decision.

Kansas is in the middle of the highest incidence of COVID-19 infection since the pandemic began. Three more weeks would have meant more time for schools to prepare for what will be a unique and challenging school year. We believe all districts would benefit from the additional time to prepare safe alternatives in line with the guidance of health experts. Three more weeks would have given our communities a fighting chance to lessen the impact of the disease, and schools would have opened with less risk to children, families, teachers and staff.

Five members of the Board of Education voted no with “the best interests of our children at heart,” but with the whispers of extremist conservatives and the Kansas Chamber in their ears. It has always been the case that extremists under the sway of corporate interests have valued expedience and low cost over safety and human health. Today, they would place the lives of our children and their teachers at risk.

The decision now falls to individual school districts to make decisions about when to start school.

These five Kansas State Board of Education members voted to block the delay (party affiliation is important, as these are partisan elected positions): Steve Roberts, Michelle Dombrosky, Jean Clifford, Deena Horst and Ben Jones, all Republicans.

These five board members voted to uphold the governor’s order to delay school openings: Democrats Janet Waugh and Ann Mah, and Republicans Kathy Busch, Jim Porter and Jim McNiece.

See if any of them are on your ballot in 2020 at KSBallot.org, then get out there and vote.

The Mainstream Coalition has been at the forefront of advocacy for education equity and excellence in Kansas for 25 years, and was a partner in the return of reasonable science education policies to the board in 2007. In this time of pandemic, we cannot return to that blindered, politics-first approach to the future of our state.

Michael Poppa is the executive director of the Mainstream Coalition, a nonpartisan nonprofit that advocates for common sense public policy in Kansas. Learn more at MainstreamCoalition.org