Kansas GOP Insider (wannabe): Just Some PTA Moms. Right.

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Just Some PTA Moms. Right.

Stand Up Blue Valley is selling a story that no one should be buying. The organization says it "was formed by a group of parents concerned about the impact statewide legislative decisions over the last few years have had on our students, our school district, and the involvement of outside special interests in our schools."

It's just some soccer moms, guys, worried about their school district. Yeah, right. Those are some slick websites, social media sites, polling and research for a few families worried about "special interests." 

The group incorporated as a not-for-profit back in January. Their mailing address is a Missouri law firm, Stinson Leonard Street. You'd think just a group of PTA folks would incorporate using someone's Stilwell or Leawood home address, or even a box down at the local UPS Store. But nope. 

Generally, small groups--like concerned soccer moms-- incorporate under an individual's name. That's not how Stand Up Blue Valley rolls. This group incorporated using a corporate filing company, SMF Registered Services. This outfit is a Stinson Leonard company that does all of the law firm's corporate filings. I don't fully understand all of this legal mumbo-jumbo about corporate filings. (My soccer mom friends are so lame. They can give directions to every ball field and soccer field in the county, but strangely, most of them know about as much about corporate filings and big Missouri law firms as I do. Maybe they belong to the wrong PTA groups?)

In its incorporation filing, the group doesn't list its directors or officers. An attorney friend explained that organizations aren't required to do that when first incorporating, because sometimes the corporation is still in the process of recruiting for those positions. They can amend and add names later. With this Stand Up outfit, however, it appears they may be attempting to intentionally hide who is fronting this group of scrapbookers.

A little less than a month after incorporating as a not-for-profit, Stand Up Blue Valley filed a statement of organization for a political action committee. This statement lists a chair, Patty Logan. Julie Coker is listed as the group's treasurer. Their finances should be available for viewing on July ethics reports.

This outfit says it's just interested in schools and THE CHILDREN. This isn't true, of course. How else to explain that Stand Up for Blue Valley is rallying for Johnson County parents to send money to other parts of the state? Their entire argument is a desperate cry with the intent of forcing Republicans to raise taxes. Check out the prodigious use of the term "tea bagger" on the group's Facebook page. 
Stand Up for Blue Valley should just be honest about what they want--liberals in office and tax increases. 




9 comments:

  1. Obviously, you don't know these moms. They are all former corporate types who actually know how to run a business or "gasp" do more than wear high heels to a soccer game. They are not hiding anything and if you got your facts straight, did a little research you would know this. Let me guess. You are Melcher just hiding behind a blog and scared shitless that you are going to lose the election.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Talk about clueless and not having your facts straight. You can Google my name and figure out who I am. FYI--not Melcher.

      Delete
    2. WOW! Sorry...didn't pull up your picture but you are the one that is clueless for buying into the extremist. Also, so you know, former state debater in high school and very successful business woman who now runs a successful business from home. Not clueless and highly intelligent who has read the facts and not "bought" into what the extremist would like you to believe. I did not grow up in Jo Co but in Western KS. I have seen 1st hand what politics have done to our schools. We as a state made a mistake when we elected Finney in 1990 and now are paying greatly for the mistake of electing Brownback for 2 terms. When 4 governors who are all vastly different come together to plead with our state to get their act together and vote in legislators who will do their job and fix the mess of a tax experiment, you know there is a problem. These parents are working to get the message out to vote so that we hopefully can have some push back on Brownback before he completely bankrupts our great state along with the education of our children and the highway fund. It used to be you wanted to live in KS because of the education and the highways. You paid more taxes but it was worth it for the quality of life. Now companies do not want to relocate to KS because of this debacle of a tax experiment.

      Delete
  2. The idea that the only thing a mother is capable of is navigating to a soccer field is demeaning and wrong. If the GOP of Brownback succeeds in tearing apart Kansas schools (and in turn real estate values & the state's economy), you'll be wishing for the intelligence & perseverance of these dedicated moms.

    ReplyDelete
  3. When Stand Up Blue Valley testified in front of Senate Judiciary committee, it was clear they were clueless - they didn't even realize the Kansas Supreme Court opinion took money away from their schools to give property tax relief to other areas in Kansas, and that it would continue into the future. Maybe theyou should change their name to "Sit Down Blue Valley."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For 2016-17, the BV per-student annual expenditure is $8,614, per the BVSD website. Extremist legislators are greatly inflating that number with a host of expenses that are NOT directly related to student instruction - and cannot be used on student instruction, by law. These expenses vary from year to year, and include funds to build & maintain buildings used by the general public, teacher retirement payments (known as KPERS), purchase & maintenance of equipment, etc. These non-instructional expenses CANNOT be used to actually teach Blue Valley students. These dollars cannot fund your child's teacher or keep class sizes down. These dollars cannot pay a librarian, language, art, music or computer teacher, a school nurse, counselor, reading/math specialist or paraprofessional.
      Even more outrageous, the 15K dollar amount for 2016-17 includes a delayed KPERS payment - it was moved to this budget year from last year, because the state couldn't pay it on time! And Melcher knows that perfectly well.
      The state dollar amount allocated to your BV student is NOT over $15k! In fact, accounting for inflation, BV per-student spending has gone DOWN since 2009. But since the Extremists vote against our schools consistently, they're twisting data in an effort to appear that they do support Blue Valley students. They do not, nor will they begin doing so if re-elected.
      Remember, these Extremists & their supporters are the ones funding the multiple crazy postcards appearing in your mailbox each day. There's a reason for that. Please think about it before you vote.

      Delete
    2. I don't think anyone from Stand Up Blue Valley has ever testified in front of the Senate Judiciary. When did that supposedly happen?

      Delete
  4. We live in a bi-state area, where there are thousands upon thousand who commute between Missouri or Kansas every day. My own family lives in Johnson County and commutes. Why? For the schools! So call treason if you wish, but I find it ridiculously. Doesn't Stinson Leonard have a Johnson County office? And behind every concerned mom (with their innate good sense or direction or mean scrapbooking skills) is a representation of a concerned Johnson County family, and rightly so. Without the strong Blue Valley Schools, there is a trickle down effect that will be devastating to county and Kansas. Maybe you belong to the wrong county? If you don't want to pay taxes, move to an island, and who knows maybe you'll learn to appreciate soccer.

    ReplyDelete
  5. For 2016-17, the BV per-student annual expenditure is $8,614, per the BVSD website. Extremist legislators are greatly inflating that number with a host of expenses that are NOT directly related to student instruction - and cannot be used on student instruction, by law. These expenses vary from year to year, and include funds to build & maintain buildings used by the general public, teacher retirement payments (known as KPERS), purchase & maintenance of equipment, etc. These non-instructional expenses CANNOT be used to actually teach Blue Valley students. These dollars cannot fund your child's teacher or keep class sizes down. These dollars cannot pay a librarian, language, art, music or computer teacher, a school nurse, counselor, reading/math specialist or paraprofessional.
    Even more outrageous, the 15K dollar amount for 2016-17 includes a delayed KPERS payment - it was moved to this budget year from last year, because the state couldn't pay it on time! And Melcher knows that perfectly well.
    The state dollar amount allocated to your BV student is NOT over $15k! In fact, accounting for inflation, BV per-student spending has gone DOWN since 2009. But since the Extremists vote against our schools consistently, they're twisting data in an effort to appear that they do support Blue Valley students. They do not, nor will they begin doing so if re-elected.
    Remember, these Extremists & their supporters are the ones funding the multiple crazy postcards appearing in your mailbox each day. There's a reason for that. Please think about it before you vote.

    ReplyDelete