About one in six Kansas teachers feel they’re likely to leave public education before retiring, according to a statewide survey of 20,000 teachers. The Kansas Educator Engagement and Retention Study, conducted by Emporia State University Teachers Collège professor Bret Church and independent organizational psychologist Luke Simmering, also found that one in seven teachers feel likely to retire in the next three years. The survey’s report adds a layer to other Kansas data that shows the state’s schools are facing a staffing crunch. Teacher vacancies, including jobs filled with teachers not fully licensed for those positions, rose 62% to 1,253 vacancies in fall 2021, per a report from the Kansas State Department of Education.
Source: CJonline

Appraisal values rose by an average of about 13.5% per residential property in Shawnee County. That concerns Topeka City Councilman Tony Emerson. “This is something that really affects my constituents,” Emerson told The Capital-Journal this past week. “People can’t afford to pay more and more taxes year after year.” The new appraisal values — or revised versions of those values, if residents successfully appeal them — will be paired with mill levy levels local taxing entities set when they adopt 2023 budgets later this year to calculate the property tax bills for which Shawnee County residents will pay the first half beginning in December.
Source: CJonline