FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact:
Emma O’Brien
emma@kansasdems.org
October 31, 2022
WICHITA EAGLE OP-ED: BROWNBACK & SCHMIDT “NEARLY DESTROYED OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. WE CANNOT GIVE SCHMIDT THE CHANCE TO FINISH WHAT HE STARTED.”
Reagan: “We must re-elect Kelly to ensure we can continue rebuilding our public school system and work to solve our teacher shortage. Our collective future depends on it.”
Topeka, KS – Last week, former Blue Valley high school English teacher Claire Reagan penned an op-ed in the Wichita Eagle warning Kansans of what returning to a Brownback-era education system would look like under Derek Schmidt. Recalling “the emotional stress placed on teachers” during the Brownback era, Reagan stressed the importance of re-electing Governor Laura Kelly to ensure our current and future public school teachers will be advocated for, and that our children get the quality education they deserve.
As Reagan points out, Schmidt proudly defended Brownback while he “nearly destroyed our public school system” by drastically defunding schools, resulting in teachers losing their jobs or leaving the classroom for good. Left to pick up the pieces, Governor Kelly “worked tirelessly to rebuild our schools” by fully funding public schools for four years in a row.
Read more from Reagan here, or read key quotes below:
- “Sam Brownback and his chief defender, Derek Schmidt, nearly destroyed our public school system. We cannot give Schmidt the chance to finish what he started.”
- “Kelly hears our public school teachers, she listens to them, and she helps… To know your governor is behind you, that she supports you, that she values you is heartening and vital to the retention of new and the recruitment of future educators.”
- “There is no doubt in my mind that Schmidt would bring public schools back to the days of chronic underfunding as he continues to antagonize our public school teachers to this day.”
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