A lawmaker’s personal grievances took center stage in a hearing over his proposed legislation to scrutinize communication from public schools about bond issues.

Rep. Paul Waggoner, a Hutchinson Republican, said House Bill 2451 would strengthen existing law that prohibits public employees from electioneering while on the clock or with public resources. He said the Hutchinson school district’s communications last year on a failed bond issue blurred the distinction between educating the public, which is allowed, and advocating, which is unlawful.

The legislation clarifies that educators could be charged with a crime for crossing that line.

Critics of the bill said the real goal was to prevent administrators and teachers from saying anything about a proposed bond issue. They pointed to past clashes between Waggoner and school figures, his contributions to a campaign to defeat the bond issue, the fact that he doesn’t even live in the school district and couldn’t vote on the bond issue, and the double standard that he enjoys as a legislator to spend tax dollars on his partisan newsletters.

“I believe this bill’s sole purpose is to criminalize speech that Mr. Waggoner doesn’t like,” said Stacy Goss, who submitted testimony in her individual capacity rather than as the school district’s communications director.

Big, beautiful mailer

Hutchinson voters by a three-to-one margin rejected the school district’s $109.5 million plan to build a new middle school and support other projects. The district featured educational information, as vetted by an attorney, about the bond issue in place of a regularly planned newsletter.

Waggoner and Allison Reed, who volunteered for Waggoner’s legislative campaigns and defended him taking photos of a decorated teacher’s house in 2022, seized the opportunity to build resistance around the idea that the school was using taxpayer money to persuade the community to raise property taxes.

Waggoner testified in front of the House Elections Committee, for which he is also the vice-chair, and said it was “shocking” to see what he viewed as “standard campaign advocacy” in the school district’s communications. He said schools have a right to educate the public, but they are not supposed to advocate.

“I think that clearly is not followed at all in many ways. It’s just skirted,” he said.

Reed presented the committee with a PowerPoint presentation that showed, in her mind, how school materials closely resembled the messaging used by a campaign to support the bond issue. She denounced the eight-page, glossy “beautiful mailer” the school district had sent to residents.

“It doesn’t necessarily say ‘yes,’ but it certainly gives you an idea of where the person that produced this is coming from,” she said.

She noted that teachers wore buttons that said “I support Hutch kids” and included the same logo that was used as part of the advocacy campaign.

That would be the school logo.

Reed also complained that the school district unpublished a video of the school board meeting in December where administrators “admitted” they had spent $10,000 on the mailing and $4,000 on yard signs.

Goss, in response to Kansas Reflector questions, said the video in question no longer appears on the school district’s Facebook page because Facebook removes live videos after 30 days. However, Goss said, she would provide a copy of the video to anyone who emailed her. She provided a copy to the Reflector.

“Troubling perception”

In her written testimony for the committee, Goss said that while Waggoner’s bill is framed as a way to prevent misuse of public resources, it is overly broad and could silence “legitimate public education efforts.” The actual effect of the bill, she said, was to “chill lawful communications.”

“There is a troubling perception that this bill is being advanced by Rep. Waggoner, who has a personal agenda against Hutchinson Public Schools and individuals associated with our district,” she said.

She noted that Waggoner’s opponent in the 2024 election was a substitute teacher.

She said she refused to believe Waggoner’s intentions were “pure” because “he also has a personal agenda against me.” She said he opposed her campaign for city council by engaging in “ridiculous name-calling” on social media, including “tax-and-spend Stacy.” Waggoner doesn’t live in her council district, she said.

Hutchinson superintendent Dawn Johnson also provided written testimony in opposition to the bill. She said public schools have a responsibility to provide the public with accurate and timely information about bond issues.

But, Johnson said, Waggoner’s bill conflates education with advocacy and effectively would prohibit school districts from using websites, social media, email and other forms of communication to provide information about bond issues.

“This restriction would have a chilling effect on transparency and would leave voters less informed, not more protected,” Johnson said.

Other opponents called attention to the lack of clarity in the bill about when a public employee is allowed to speak about a ballot question.

Could a city manager go to a Rotary Club meeting on a Saturday and speak in favor of a proposed sales tax? If someone at a PTA meeting asks about a bond issue, is a teacher allowed to talk about it? There was no clear answer to those questions.

Anyone who runs afoul of the law could be convicted of a Class C misdemeanor and face up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.

“Fear of advocacy”

Waggoner wasn’t the only legislator with a personal grievance.

Sen. Doug Shane, R-Louisburg, told the House committee he had introduced a companion bill in the Senate in response to a school district in his area seeking support for a lease-purchase agreement. He said the school district advocated for support and that teachers even offered extra credit for students who produced advocacy materials.

“Community members were pretty aghast that the power and the influence of the school district would be used in that form and fashion, also creating a coercive environment within the school district itself, whether you’re a student or a staff member,” Shane said.

Rep. Brooklynne Mosley, D-Lawrence, questioned Shane about where he was getting his information.

“I’m sorry that you had to live in fear of advocacy,” Mosley said. “I’m sorry that that happened to you. You mentioned that you’re basically speaking for a whole community. Did you conduct any, like, surveys?”

Shane clarified that he wasn’t speaking on behalf of the community. Mosley asked how many people he had spoke with. Shane said it was “several dozen.”

Mosley asked if his children attended public school.

Shane: “So where my children attend school is not a prerequisite on this —”

Mosley: “Private school?”

Shane: “My kids are home schooled.”

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Story via Kansas Reflector

Photo: Rep. Paul Waggoner, R-Hutchinson, says his hometown school district crossed the line from education to advocacy for a failed bond issue last year. He is seen here during a Jan. 23, 2025, session of the House. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)