Game On For Kansas Schools began their third walk this morning starting in Chatlain Park in Merriam, Kansas.
In 2014, Heather Ousley and Judith Deedy felt a chance to change the outlook on education in Kansas. In the aftermath of the 2014 election, however, Game On For Kansas is in for a serious fight over the next four years, as the Brownback administration has already moved forward and changing the formula for school funding and altering the way we handle students.
The crowd who assembled in near 34 degree weather, however, were unified in their belief that making the trek -- and calling attention to these issues -- is important in addressing the concerns of educators and parents throughout the state.
Many Kansans grew up walking to school with their local school nearby and the walk an opportunity to meet with friends and family members before and after school. These walks back and forth have become traditions in rural Kansas communities.
In small communities like Luray, Kansas, students used to walk down the main street to make their way home. In Erie, Kansas, a stop at Richey's Rexall on the way home from school for a fountain drink with friends shaped the youth experience for many. Schools acted as both a place for education and a way to tie the community together.
Very few things unified a town like a chance for a state championshp in Elkhart. A run for the title in Stockton, Kansas, and the walk across the football field or baseball diamond as students walked their way to their homes reminded students of the things they loved about their community.
Today in Kansas, many administrators and educators worry that may be coming to a close. Speaking to a western Kansas school board member this morning - who asked to remain anonymous - the point was hammered home, "I can read budgets. Using this plan [Block Grants], we are going to be compelled to look at consolidation or closing down some schools in order to make it, and the administrators are going to be the ones on the hot seat because we will have to break the news."
Governor Brownback's decision to change a formula that has been in place since 1992 with an untested block grant program has many deeply concerned, including Republicans.
Rep. Don Hineman, laid it out clear in the capital: "This is untested and risky. We are burning down the house instead of repairing it." Hineman, a Republican hails from Dighton, a small Kansas community. Dighton is home to USD-482, a typical Kansas School District that reflects the changing surroundings of southwest Kansas. More Spanish speakers. In nearby Dodge City, numerous languages are first languages for students. The pressure on schools within Hineman's surrounding areas grows, as schools that cover significant number of miles without high populations of students or large tax base worry that the new formula will make it difficult for them to offer the services that a graduating student today needs.
At a town hall held last spring in Clay Center Kansas, a resident argued: "Without our school, we'll be a ghost town."
As the walkers for Game on For Kansas make the 60 mile trek to Topeka, they will walk nearby several communities that have went by the wayside in the growing reach of Kansas City Metro. Many who make the trek today do so from low population districts, and the walk for some represents a way of life being lost in Kansas.
The walk will move through the Johnson County area today, with plans to arrive sometime tomorrow in Eudora, Kansas as it continues. A final press conference is expected in Topeka Monday morning at the capital.