Web posted
Friday, June 6, 2008
Dennis enters race for state board of ed
By DAVID A. SEATON
Traveler Staff Writer
daseaton@arkcity.net
David Dennis, a retired Air Force colonel and current educator, has filed to represent District 10 on the Kansas Board of Education.
The district includes Cowley County and is currently held by veterinarian Steve Abrams, R-Arkansas City. Democrat Paul Casanova of Andover has also filed for the seat.
A Republican from Wichita, Dennis has been a business teacher at North High School but currently serves as the school's "data leader," which means he conducts student assessments and helps with achievement, he said.
Dennis, 61, said he's always been interested in public office and decided to run after he learned that Abrams would not run again. The primary is Aug. 5. The general election is Nov. 4.
Abrams, however, told the Traveler in March that he planned to seek reelection. Abrams had not returned phone calls or e-mails as of press time Friday. According to the Kansas elections Web site, Abrams had not yet filed as a candidate. The deadline is Tuesday.
Dennis described himself as an overall conservative and a "very strong Catholic." But he said he was OK with teaching evolution in public schools and keeping the current science standards.
That issue has dominated media coverage of the state board in recent years as conservative and moderate board members have rewritten the standards to meet their views. Abrams favors more criticism of evolution.
"I do not believe the Catholic Church is opposed to evolution," he said. "It's just that they believe that God had an impact on evolution. To go and start changing the standard again and incite that argument, when there are so many more issues our students face today, I think that's not productive."
His concerns include addressing a teacher shortage in Kansas. The state might have to find alternative methods of certifying teachers to get enough of them, he said.
Ensuring schools have adequate financing is also a priority, Dennis said, as is pushing for reform of No Child Left Behind. Under that law, schools that don't meet the required achievement marks would be labeled "failures" by 2014.
"If we have failures, then what are we going to do?" he said. "Are we going to say that our education system is a failure? I don't believe we're a failure. I think we have a great education system."
Dennis said experience shows that all-day kindergarten better prepares students for their 12 years of schooling. But he said state finances are tight right now, and he's not sure the budget could handle funding all-day kindergarten statewide.
He believes schools need more rigorous requirements of students. For instance, he said, students at North High School need only 22 credits to graduate. There is no requirement to take a computer course, he said. Vocational classes could be added to aid those students not on track for college.
"With only 22 credits, I think that kind of sets a fairly low standard," he said.
Dennis is a member of the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission and a school district advisory board. He ran for Wichita City Council last year and came in third out of seven candidates.
Dennis and his wife, Janet, have two sons. One is a school principal out of state and another teaches school in Wichita.
The candidate is originally from Great Bend. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1968 and worked his way to colonel, earning a masters in public administration from the University of Oklahoma in 1986. His bachelor's degree is in business administration from Fort Hays State, according to his Web site, www.dtdennis.com.
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