Chad Frey

Byron Adrian, Mennonite Housing President, had a number of announcements he wanted to make Oct.

TOPEKA — A member of an education advocacy group on Monday asked lawmakers tasked with education policy to focus on reliable public school funding.In response, Republican lawmakers questioned the function of his advocacy group.Scott Rothschild, who monitors legislation for the Kansas Association of School Board on behalf of the 286 school boards statewide, ignited the discussion by pushing back on the use of state assessment scores as an important measure of Kansas public schools’ educational success.Lawmakers on the Special Committee on Education have tried to leverage low assessment scores in their push for private school voucher programs, including one program in the last legislative session that would have granted about $5,000 to students attending private schools and unaccredited home schools.Rothschild said student assessment scores were often influenced by students’ home life, with lower-income students and disabled students often scoring worse, and using the scores as an indicator of public school failure was “ill-advised.”“Student performance on state and national assessments is greatly influenced by societal factors that teachers cannot control,” Rothschild said.

This weekend in Memorial Hall on the Bethel College Campus a few groups will combine - The Newton High School Orchestra will join Newton Mid-Kansas Orchestra and Newton High School Chorus for the annual Fall Classics Concert.