Firing of staff stuns Kansas Arts Commission
TOPEKA | Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration has told the Kansas Arts Commission that its five employees will lose their jobs and the agency will be shut down next month.Secretary of Administration Dennis Taylor sent a letter Tuesday telling the employees their jobs would end June 10.
Brownback wants to eliminate the commission and replace it with a nonprofit foundation relying heavily on private donations to finance arts programs.
Legislative negotiators plan to include $689,000 in the next budget to keep the commission alive, but Brownback is expected to line-item veto the funds.
Arts Commission Chairman Henry Schwaller said the agency was shocked by Taylor’s letter. Schwaller called the move a back-door attempt to circumvent what Kansas residents want.
| The Associated Press
Posted on Tue, May. 10, 2011 10:15 PM
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/
I've been thinking about my response all day.Dear Governor Brownback,
As a U.S. History teacher at Topeka West High School, I spend a lot of time focusing on how the checks and balances in the Constitution have enabled our governmental system to exist continuously and develop positively through the past 200 years.
My students and I extensively discuss the importance of compromises between those founders who championed a large central government, and those who cautioned against establishing a government with too much power. Only through this delicate balance can we now enjoy a system that is both able to lead our nation effectively and speaks for the rights and wishes of our nation's people.
By promoting the balancing of the budget through cutting spending and shrinking some KS government programs, your proposals throughout this year's Kansas budget discussions have remained consistent with a belief in a government with limited powers and responsibilities.
I was extremely frustrated and angered to learn of your recent act of prematurely dismantling the Kansas Arts Commission. I find it highly inconsistent that you argue for a smaller government while simultaneously abusing powers that are beyond the responsibilities that have been democratically delegated to you.
Given the two options, I would prefer to pay higher taxes for a program that the populace of Kansas has spoken in support of (both through their own voices and through their elected representatives), than to have a governor that feels free to act unilaterally and even against the will of the legislature.
This action was not only hypocritical in the light of your belief in limited government, but it also make a mockery of the system of checks on power that are the basis of our governmental system. It brings to light just how vulnerable any governmental system is to a leader who does not stay within the bounds of the leadership role to which he or she was elected.
Do not let hubris, impatience, or frustration get in the way of fulfilling your responsibilities to those who elected you. Reinstate the Kansas Arts Commission until the budget issues surrounding it are resolved through democratic means. The people of Kansas--and the students of Topeka West High School--will watch and hold you accountable for your actions.
Sincerely,
Miriam Friesen
