Lawrence Journal-World blames Democrat's education cuts on Brownback

In the October 19 issue of the Lawrence Journal-World, "reporter" Peter Hancock engages in the mainstream media practice of citing a study from a far-left think tank without telling readers that it is a far-left think tank with a far-left agenda. In this case, Hancock cites the Center for Budget Policies and Priorities (CBPP). In The Practical Progressive: How to Build a Twenty-First Century Political Movement (2008), Erica Payne, co-founder of the Democracy Alliance and former Deputy National Finance Director for the Democratic National Committee, lists CBPP as an organization that is part of the "Progressive Infrastructure." It's board of directors includes many who would be recognized as those on the left.

But what was really egregious about Hancock's article, which claims, according to CBPP, "direct state funding for public schools in Kansas is still nearly 15 percent less than it was before the start of the Great Recession," is that Hancock blames Gov. Brownback for education spending cuts that took place under Mark Parkinson, Brownback's Democratic predecessor.

Below is a chart that shows the average spending per pupil in Kansas from 2005-06 to 2014-15. As you can see, the average amount per pupil dropped during the 2009-10 school year and then again in the 2010-11 school year. The average amount then began to increase again year after year beginning with the 2011-12 school year.

Note that Gov. Mark Parkinson became governor in 2009 when Gov. Kathleen Sebelius went to Washington, D.C., to serve in the Obama administration. Parkinson was also governor in 2010, when the state budget was set for fiscal year 2011.

However, this is what Hancock reported: "Kansas began cutting budgets in 2008, under then-Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, when state revenues began to plummet following the collapse of the financial industry and national housing market that fall. They continued in 2009 after Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, took office."

Again, Brownback did not become governor until January 2011 (also, note that Sebelius, and not Parkinson, was governor in 2008).

Is this a case of liberal historical revisionism or extremely sloppy reporting? Who knows? However, the Journal-World's readers deserve a front-page correction to this front-page article.