At Governor Sam Brownback's urging, Kansas legislators "slashed" personal taxes a few years ago in an attempt to stimulate the state’s ailing economy — and Kansas has been struggling to balance its budget ever since.
Not only did the tax cuts fail, but the resulting budget deficit has left Kansas schools in worse shape than ever.
A recent report by Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan confirms that the tax cuts failed to boost economy, evidenced by the continued "slumps in agriculture, aircraft manufacturing and energy production." And these issues, says the Washington Post, overshadowed the debate over school funding earlier in the year, when legislators attempted a band-aid approach to satisfying a February State Supreme Court order to increase funding to poor districts.
Rejecting that approach that failed to resolve inequalities in funding for school districts, the state's highest court is now warning that schools "will be unable to open after June 30" if lawmakers don’t act appropriately to fix school funding by then, adds the Washington Post.
But, instead of complying with the court order, leading Republican legislators stalled, and Brownback issued a statement of defiance.
According to a survey reported by the Kansas City Star, Brownback is the “most unpopular governor in America,” largely because of what his tax cuts did to education.
Sam Brownback has had his chance. Now it's time for him to go. Please sign this petition now and tell Governor Brownback you want him to resign.
Governor Brownback:
As someone who understands the importance of adquate support for the kind of equitable education programs your budget cuts have compromised and for other reasons, I am writing to urge you to resign from your office as Governor of Kansas. Your dangerous experiment has compromised the state's fiscal health and now threatens the education of Kansas' children.
[Your Comments]
Not only have your tax cuts threatened the viability of the state’s education program, angering parents across the state. A growing chorus of residents are rightly calling for your resignation on other grounds as well.
Students at Johnson County Community College complain in their Campus Ledger that your "support of discriminatory policies is not only vile — it has also jeopardized Kansas’ national standing."
The Campus Ledger editorial staff also asserts that you "are out of touch with many Kansans, especially that of a younger generation that is more diverse and tolerant than ever before." They add that they and other Kansans "are no longer willing to allow" you "to continue to nationally embarrass" their state "while simultaneously bankrupting it."
I and others signing this petition, join the Campus Ledger and others in calling for your resignation.
[Your Name]
