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School reduction proposals emerge ——
Recommendation on elementaries expected by end of January By Mark Fagan mfagan@ljworld.com
ONLINE: See the plans online at LJWorld.com
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DAN ABRAHAMSON, OF LAWRENCE, was the organist at First United Methodist Church for 42 years and spent 40 years at Reuter Organ Co. Now retired, he’s creating large, sculptured birdhouses. “My idea was to be as creative as possible and be sort of fanciful about it,” Abrahamson said. The creations are best considered as visual delights rather than as functioning birdhouses. “No, birds don’t use them,” laughed Abrahamson, “too many nails and screws inside.” See a video and hear Abrahamson talk about his creations online at LJWorld.com.
Brownback says staff overreacted to tweet School district says teen has free speech right, does not have to apologize
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By Scott Rothschild
My staff overreacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize. Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms.”
srothschild@ljworld.com
Charlie Riedel/AP Photo
SHAWNEE MISSION EAST senior Emma Sullivan, 18, does a phone interview Monday from her Fairway home. Sullivan has garnered national attention since she sent a tweet critical of Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback.
TOPEKA — Facing ridicule on a national level, Gov. Sam Brownback on Monday issued an apology, saying his staff overreacted to a disparaging tweet about him written by a high school student. Last week, Brownback’s staff, which monitors social media such as Facebook and Twitter, complained about a tweet written by Shawnee Mission East senior Emma Sullivan, 18. That led to a trip to the principal’s office for Sullivan, who was scolded and told to write letters of apology. What followed was a national fire storm, much of it
— Gov. Sam Brownback critical of Brownback and the principal, Karl Krawitz. Brownback was accused of trying to intimidate a youngster, abridge freedom of speech, wasting taxpayer
dollars by monitoring what was written about him and being paranoid. On Monday, Brownback’s office released a prepared statement. “My staff overreacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize. Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms,” Brownback said. The incident began last week when Sullivan was among a group of students at the Statehouse for a Youth in Government program. Brownback, a Republican, was addressing the group. Sullivan, who describes herself as a Democrat and who recently registered to vote, tweeted from her cellphone, “Just made mean comments at gov. brownback and told
him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot.” She actually did not say that, and later said she was “just joking with friends.” When the governor’s office saw the tweet during monitoring of social media comments, it was reported to Youth in Government officials. Brownback’s spokeswoman, Sherriene Jones-Sontag, said at the time, “It was important for the organization to be aware of the comments their students were making. It’s also important for students to recognize the power of social media, how lasting it is. It is on the Internet.” She added of Sullivan’s
Ideas are emerging for consolidating elementary schools in the Lawrence school district, including two ideas that would combine New York and Kennedy schools at an expanded, and possibly relocated, site of the former East Heights School. Representatives from four schools met a Sunday deadline for submitting initial scenarios for discussion next week by the Central and East Lawrence Elementary School Consolidation Working Group. The group is charged with recommending a plan, by the end of January, for reducing a list of six elementary schools to either three or four within the next couple of years. The SCHOOLS candidates for consolidation are Cordley, Hillcrest, Kennedy, New York, Pinckney and Sunset Hill schools. The working group is made up of smaller subgroups, representing each of the consolidation candidates, plus Woodlawn School. Kennedy’s subgroup met Sunday and “hammered out” a scenario that would close both Kennedy and New York, with hopes for seeing that a new, larger school — either at or adjacent to East Heights, which closed in 2003, became an early-childhood center and now is home to Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence programs
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KU student seeks legislation that would treat veterans as in-state students By George Diepenbrock gdiepenbrock@ljworld.com
A Kansas University student and Marine Corps veteran thinks recent changes to the GI Bill are unfair to veterans who attend public universities as out-of-state residents. And Sara Sneath, a KU junior who qualifies as an instate resident, is asking the Kansas Legislature next session to pass a bill that would allow all honorably discharged veterans who served
at least 36 months on active duty to be treated as in-state residents. “It’s just overwhelming to think what this person sacrificed, and for their benefits to be cut off in any way, it’s just very unfortunate,” said Sneath, who retired as a Marine corporal and served as a consulate guard. “It shouldn’t happen.” She’s been working with Kansas House Minority Leader Paul Davis, D-Lawrence, and his staff to draft a
pay. That is helpful for some veterans studying in expensive programs like engineering and business, but Sneath said it hurts out-ofstate students because now their GI Bill benefits only cover them at the in-state rate, putting them on the hook for the difference. And she said any grants or scholarships the out-of-state student veterans receive for tuition and fees could be deducted from their overall benefits. “Those two factors are just
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bill. Arizona passed a similar law last year. Sneath, a member of the KU Collegiate Veterans Association, said Sneath the change is necessary because the recent Post-9/11 GI Bill Congress passed that took effect this year removed a previous cap per credit hour for how much the GI Bill would
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killing out-of-state students, and they’re going to leave,” said Sneath, who is studying journalism, sociology and Spanish. She hopes if Kansas passes a bill similar to Arizona, it could also make the state’s universities more attractive to veterans who would be considered out-of-state residents. Sneath said many veterans originally enlisted in the military because they had limited options for college and were expecting higher education
benefits once they finished, plus a majority of younger veterans now also have served one or more combat tours in Iraq or Afghanistan that were dangerous and put them away from their families for an extended period of time. “I just don’t think that veterans’ benefits should be cut,” she said. “Find another way to do this.” — Reporter George Diepenbrock can be reached at 832-7144. Follow him at Twitter. com/gdiepenbrock.
COMING WEDNESDAY We follow up on the case of Joe Jones, who was convicted, then exonerated, in a rape he did not commit.
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