The below message from Dr. Jason Dandoy, Superintendent of Schools, and Theresa Rangel, Board of Education President, was published in the winter edition of our Turner Today magazine:

Turner Community, 

We hope you were each able to enjoy time with family and friends over the holidays. After snow and cold impacted us, our students were ready to return to some routine and our second semester has been going very well.

On January 13th, the Kansas Legislative session began, and we are carefully watching progress made by our political leaders. Public schools are directly impacted by this process, and we appreciate the legislators who support our educational goals in Turner.

Prior to the 2025 legislative session, our local Board of Education adopted “priorities” to share with legislators through organized advocacy events and regular conversation. We feel that these items best address the needs of our students while providing equitable education to all Kansas children:

School Funding

• Suitable school finance provided by the Kansas Legislature, including renewal of the constitutionally suitable school funding and inflationary adjustments approved by the Legislature, Governor, and the Kansas Supreme Court.
• Funding for early childhood programs, including Parents as Teachers, infant/toddler special education, and pre-kindergarten.
• Reimbursement of special education services at the statutory rate of 92% of excess costs.
• A study of transportation funding to include students living less than 2.5 miles from their assigned school. All Turner students receive free transportation, some of which is not reimbursed by the state.

School Effectiveness

• Increased support for student health and security.

Educational Governance

• Management of public schools under locally elected boards of education.
• General supervision of public schools under the State Board of Education, including setting standards for accreditation, learning standards, graduation, and licensure.

Employee Support

• Flexibility in the path to teacher licensure while retaining appropriate standards set by the State Board of Education.
• Improving teacher recruitment and retention through local control of classroom content, respect for the teaching profession, and increased funding for salaries.

Our local public schools provide opportunities for our students and are the path toward their future success.

When it comes to legislative issues, as a district we monitor all official decisions made at the local, state, and federal levels that could have an impact on our schools and students.

When we learn of new legislation that will have a direct impact on us, we use the information to the best of our ability to create plans that will allow us to continue serving all Turner students with a high-quality education.

Thank you for your continued support of our students.