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Abortion ruling expected to affect Kansas clinics “
TO STAND ON
By Peter Hancock
This is a monumental day for reproAbortion ductive rights...”
Twitter: @LJWpqhancock
Analysis: Brownback’s ‘three-legged stool’ view of Kansas economy no longer accurate
Topeka — rights advocates in Kansas hailed a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday that struck down a pair of Texas laws regulating abortion providers. But abortion foes called the decision a “tragedy” that removes legal and medical safeguards for patients. In a 5-3 ruling, the court struck down laws requiring doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital located near the abortion clinic and requiring clinics that provide abortions to meet the same standards as outpatient surgery centers.
By Peter Hancock Twitter: @LJWpqhancock
D
uring a meeting last week of the State Finance Council, Gov. Sam Brownback used a common analogy to describe the Kansas economy. “You recall the comment about the Kansas economy is a three-legged stool,” he said. “You’ve got agriculture, oil and gas, and aviation. You and I have been around the state for a long period of time. Those are the three primary legs of the stool.” He made that comment during an exchange with Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, who was pressing Brownback to admit that the tax cuts that the governor championed in 2012 and 2013 have not worked as planned and that those failures are the reasons for the state’s budget shortfalls. But Brownback rejected that idea, arguing that the state is going through a rare cycle when all three of the industries he says are the major underpinnings of the Kansas economy are going through downturns. He cited the recent collapse of oil and gas prices, record low farm commodity prices, and recent mergers and consolidations in the Wichita-area aviation industry. “So your three primary legs of the Kansas economy have been in great difficulty all together,” Brownback said. “Aviation has struggled for several years, but ag and oil were pretty good prior to that, but last year it was in tremendous difficulty.” The phrase “three-legged stool” has been used for decades to describe the Kansas economy. But a review of economic data for the last several years shows that, with the exception of the aviation industry, it is no longer an accurate description of Kansas in the 21st century.
— Laura McQuade, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri Kansas enacted similar laws in 2011, but a state court put those laws on hold, and both sides in the case later agreed to let them remain on hold pending the outcome of the Texas case. “This is a monumental day for reproductive rights, reproductive Please see ABORTION, page 2A
Brownback signs school finance bill Measure ends shutdown threat By John Hanna Associated Press
Topeka — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback signed legislation Monday to increase aid to poor school districts, an action that meets a court mandate and ends a threat that the state’s public schools might shut down. The bill, which takes effect Friday, increases poor districts’ state funding $38 million for 2016-17 by diverting funds from other parts of the state budget. It also redistributes some funds from
Please see ECONOMY, page 4A AP File Photo
wealthier districts in line with a state Supreme Court ruling last month. The court said the state’s school funding system remains unfair to poor districts, despite three rounds of changes in the past three years. Lawmakers had until Thursday to make further changes, and the court had said that schools might not reopen if no action was taken. The measure had broad, bipartisan support when the Republicandominated Legislature passed it last week during a two-day special session. Both legislative staffers Please see FINANCE, page 2A
Later school start times could come with increased bus cost By Rochelle Valverde Twitter: @RochelleVerde
SCHOOLS
Though Lawrence school district leaders generally agreed that later start times for the district’s secondary
schools would benefit students, the cost of such a schedule change caused some hesitation. At the school board meeting Monday, district administrators recommended that
“That’s what I would certainly recommend, especially when we’re talking about maximizing the transportation efficiencies,” said Ron May, the district’s director of administrative services.
INSIDE
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high school students have the option to begin their classes after 9 a.m., but that start times for elementary and middle schools stay as they are to save money on busing.
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“It’s not to say that there aren’t other ways that we can look at it.” All four middle schools start at 8 a.m., and both high
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Vol.158/No.180 26 pages
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