First came a big-money fight between the state supreme court and the legislature about how many hundreds of millions of dollars more to spend on schools.
Then there was the nationally publicized debate about whether to add intelligent design to the biology curriculum.
Another battle got underway last week with the appointment of a new education commissioner. Bob Corkins is a conservative activist lacking experience in both education and administration. The chair of the state Senate education committee says she nearly ran off the road when she heard the news.
The six-member majority on the school board, which pushed both Corkins and intelligent design, is apparently having a hard time defending its pick, as the Lawrence Journal-World reports:
"Asked to name an achievement by Corkins, [Chairman Steve] Abrams said Corkins had been able to accomplish what his think-tank boards asked him to do.
"Such as?
"'You probably ought to talk with his employers,' Abrams said."
