Running For Governor
Representative William Avery was ready to run for the Governorship in 1965. In an early campaign speech, Avery told Kansas what he wanted to be as their Governor. “I want to be the number one salesman for Kansas.” I tied that to, “A job for every young lady and young man graduating from our Kansas schools.”
Avery also backed a plan that would give statutory state aid to elementary and secondary schools. “The state aid has been a lifesaver for them because they were strictly relying on an ad valorem tax and they had about reached their limit on that. Now they are providing an educational opportunity for lots of students that never would have had a chance to go to an institution of higher learning. I say that the principal decision I made was state aid to education.”
Not only had Avery helped state aid to elementary and secondary schools, but also helped establish new help for community colleges. The “war babies” were coming to the age where they would be attending college, many were worried if there would be enough resources to accommodate these students. Avery met with Kansas State University President Jim McCain to discuss the topic. McCain said, “Bill, we need state support for junior colleges. The war babies, they are just hitting the college level now. We’re out of space, we’re out of teachers. And some of these students are coming here before they are ready for a four-year college. And instead of opposing that I think you should support junior colleges so they can prepare some of these students for leaving home and adjusting to the curriculum that we have on the collegiate level in Kansas.”
Avery was very proud of what his reform did, and how it has weathered the test of time. Avery said, “They didn’t repeal any of them. They didn’t repeal the withholding tax and didn’t repeal the increase in the sales tax. That provided the support for the education programs. Even though none where repealed, that did not change public sentiment towards the raising of their taxes.”
Read more about this topic: William H. Avery (politician)
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