School Finance -- I believe the school finance plan passed by a slim majority of the legislature this year will be disastrous for all Johnson County school districts, including Shawnee Mission, Blue Valley, and the Olathe School Districts. Right now, K-12 school funding makes up over half the state's General Fund Budget expenditures. This is an important expense for the state because it affects everything from new business development to property values to our state's future. I am thus very concerned about this issue.

However, the Kansas Supreme Court's ruling that the Legislature had to spend a specific amount of money on schools, much less the $800 million it ordered, is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers between the three branches of government.

My solution to the school finance problem is to support an immediate return to the pre-1992 school finance formula, where the State funded a basic education for all students wtihin the state, and defined what that basic education consisted of.

I also support the local option budget where each district's voters can determine whether to tax themselves an additional amount for the schools in that district and return those districts to an adequate funding level.

The Supreme Court's decision that all districts in the state need to be funded at the same level, and that the local option budget (approved by voters) are not allowed, is a decision that basically says that Johnson County should fund all other districts within the state and have more taken from it in taxes than is returned to it for our own schools! That is fundamentally unfair to Johnson County and is a socialistic-style system with a "take from those who have the most and give to those with less" mentality.

Immigration -- I support legal immigration. Our state was built on the hard work of immigrants. Our state labor pool of new, legal immigrants allows many jobs to be fulfilled that would otherwise be under employed.

However, the influx of illegal immigrants who get here and immediately start either demanding welfare benefits or shipping income out of the country is a drain on our state's economy.

Furthermore, no one who is here illegally should be treated better than students of U.S. citizenship from other states by being allowed to pay in-state tuition. Those same illegal immigrants should not be allowed to get driver's licenses or frauduently register to vote while not being citizens.

Judicial System Reform -- As a practicing attorney, I have noticed a number of problems with our various state laws over the years. Our Probate Code dates from the 1930's and contains obsolete pleading requirements that unduly delay and increase the expense of those trying to settle estates. Our criminal code contains reference to federal laws that have not existed since the 1960's! As one of the few lawyers in the legislature, I would lead the fight to reform these laws.

Again, I want to urge you to contact me if you have any questions on the above issues or any other topics you are concerned with. You may contact me by telephone at 913-492-8812 or by e-mail at SHattrup@aol.com.

I look forward to hearing from you!