Barnett: School finance plan will run state into debt

11:25 a.m. Tuesday, October 10, 2006


As part of 49's commitment to informing the public and encouraging the public to vote, 49 brings you this conversation with State Sen. Jim Barnett, a gubernatorial candidate. To be fair, 49 has offered equal air time to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who has yet to schedule with us.

The Nov. 7 general election will determine who Kansas' next governor will be.

State Sen. Jim Barnett hopes it's him.

Barnett's mantra: "I’m a Kansan first, and Republican second."


Barnett bio

Jim Barnett, 52, is a Republican from Emporia.
EDUCATION: Graduated from Reading, Kan., High School, 1972; bachelor's degree in chemistry, Emporia State University, 1976; doctor of medicine degree, University of Kansas, 1979
CAREER: Internship and residency, University of Texas Health Science Center, Dallas, 1979-82; private practice specializing in internal medicine, Emporia, 1982 to present.
POLITICAL CAREER: Member, Emporia Board of Education, 1991-99, and board president, 1993-97; elected to Kansas Senate, 2000, and re-elected, 2004; chairman, Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, 2005 to present.
PERSONAL: He and his wife, Yvonne, have two children.

Source: The Associated Press

In 2000, Barnett was elected to the Kansas Senate. Now, he's vying for the highest position in state government.

As a practicing physican, Barnett cares deeply about health care. And, as a former Emporia Board of Education member and past president, the Kansas school system is near and dear to his heart.

However, he voted against the school finance bill the governor signed because "it outspends revenues $800 million over three years and drives our state to unconstitutional debt," he said.

“I don't run my business that way and I won’t run the state that way.”

He said money appropriated to schools in year two and three of the school finance plan will take funding away from the Regents institutions and government programs that help the elderly.

Barnett's emphasis, should he be elected governor, will be growing the economy to support not only school finance, but other aspects of government as well.

That includes health care.

He says Kansas has 300,000 uninsured Kansans and the U.S. has 47 million uninsured Americans. He hopes to change those numbers.

"It is my goal by 2010, my first term, to have quality health care available to all Kansans and affordable health care insurance," he said.

Parents change jobs and are often left without insurance for themselves and their families.

"I want the workers to own the insurance so that it travels with them. I want them to have choice so that they can buy insurance in a competitive market."

Barnett will go head-to-head in a debate against Gov. Kathleen Sebelius Wednesday in Overland Park. One issue that's likely to heat up the debate is illegal immigration.

Barnett opposes the issuance of driver's licenses and the issue of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. He said the in-state tuition for illegal immigrants is "fundementaly wrong and unfair."

"I don't think we should treat illegal immigrants better than American citizens," he said. "It's a slap in the face for the servicemen and servicewomen who represent this country and protect us."

http://www.49abcnews.com/news/2006/oct/ ... tate_debt/