Derek Schmidt was at Sam Brownback’s side gutting Kansas schools. Our kids need better

Cuts to Kansas public schools during the Sam Brownback era were devastating.

Those cuts resulted in overcrowded classes, teacher layoffs, reduction in essential services — particularly special education — and school closures.

That was the reality for our students, parents and teachers, all because of Gov. Brownback’s failed “tax experiment.” Sadly, his experiment sent the message that tax cuts for wealthier Kansans were more important than public education.

During that era, Attorney General Derek Schmidt was Brownback’s strongest defender, spending more than $1.4 million of taxpayers’ money in court to defend unconstitutional funding cuts to K-12 education as of 2014. Their political games jeopardized the future academic progress of our children and grandchildren.

Now, just a few years later, Schmidt is desperately attempting to rewrite history to cover up his record of supporting his former boss, hoping Kansans forgot the damage he and Brownback caused.

Schmidt recently claimed that, if elected governor, he would “commit to fully funding our schools as our constitution requires.” So why didn’t he do that when he served in the Kansas Senate as the majority leader? And why did he defend Brownback’s massive cuts to our schools as attorney general?

He also recently promised to deliver better mental health services for K-12 students. How can he keep this promise when he continues to oppose Medicaid expansion, which would increase access to mental health resources for 150,000 uninsured Kansans?

Kansas voters deserve to know his answers to these questions.

No matter how hard he tries — or whatever story Schmidt and his allies want to spin — Kansas voters need to remember Schmidt chose Sam Brownback over students, parents, and teachers by defending cuts to our schools and enabling Brownback’s harmful agenda.

Most people in Kansas, regardless of political party, value public education. We want to see our schools do well and our students succeed. Good schools are good for our economy, our future workforce and strengthening our communities.

While Schmidt now promises to fully fund schools as the Kansas Constitution requires, Gov. Laura Kelly has already been there and done that. She is the best governor for public education in Kansas history. She inherited Brownback’s broken budget, but over the last four years has turned things around, keeping her promise to be the education governor we needed.

After decades of chronically underfunded schools and litigation, Kansas’ public schools finally are fully and constitutionally funded. We can trust that our constitutional duty to fully and fairly fund schools will continue so long as Laura Kelly is our governor.

Anthony Hensley is the former Kansas Senate minority leader and was a classroom teacher for 43 years.