Preventing a De Facto Ban of Charter Schools
The passage of Senate Bill (SB) 727 last year was an important step toward expanding charter access in Missouri, increasing...
Reporting on Housing Fails to Ask Basic Question
The Kansas City Star recently published a piece on investor-owned housing that seeks to raise the alarm on corporate landlords,...
Jackson County Assessment Disputes Will (Hopefully) Lead to Real Change This Time
A version of this commentary appeared in the Examiner. It’s an obscure state law that every article about government and politics...
March 26: Insider’s Hour in Kansas City
What’s Happening in Jefferson City? Get the inside scoop on the Missouri legislative session and policies that could directly impact...
Where’s Show-Me DOGE?
Missouri’s financial clock is ticking. It’s been nearly two months since Governor Kehoe announced during his State of the State...
New Data Update: See the Latest Missouri School Rankings and Spending Reports
As of March 12, 2025, MoSchoolRankings.org features the latest performance data for every Missouri public school and district. See where...
Medicaid’s Checkup: Part 4
“Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome.” This insightful quote from the late investor Charlie Munger is...
Unintended Consequences: When Well-Meaning Policies Backfire
F.A. Hayek famously wrote, “The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about...
Missouri’s Rural Schools Can Benefit from Open Enrollment
Many believe that rural districts and students can’t benefit from open enrollment, but the reality is quite the opposite. Rural...
The Salad Days in Sugar Creek
The Kansas City suburb of Sugar Creek is considering selling off its water system to Missouri American Water. The proposal...
Open Enrollment: Erasing Seven Myths in Missouri
The adoption of open enrollment in Missouri, which would allow any student to register at any public school in the...
Can We Handle the Truth . . . of Our Cities’ Financial Status?
The “Financial State of the Cities 2025” report by Truth in Accounting provides a comprehensive analysis of the fiscal health...
Missouri Pension System Pushes Out Another Great Educator
Sometimes the headline says it all. And sometimes a headline leaves us scratching our heads. Take, for example, this headline...
Ending Educational Redlining with Tim DeRoche
Susan Pendergrass speaks with Tim DeRoche from Available to All about the importance of open enrollment in public schools, particularly...
Concerns about Kansas City Animal Control Operations
There is a lot of controversy regarding animal control operations in Kansas City. Animal control in Kansas City has gone...
The Crime of Address Sharing: Why Open Enrollment Matters in Missouri
Missouri has both criminal and civil penalties for parents who use an address outside their residence to enroll their children...
Everyone Hates Property Taxes, Which Is Why We Should Depend on Them More
A version of the following commentary appeared in the Springfield Business Journal. When the Emperor was trying to convince Anakin...
St. Louis County is Right to Be Concerned about Volunteers at the Animal Shelter
There are major changes coming to the St. Louis County animal control operation. The Animal Protective Association (APA) of Missouri...
Open Enrollment: Empowering Missouri Families
Missouri’s outdated school assignment rules make it very difficult for families to choose the best public school for their children....
Debunking Open Enrollment Myths
Susan Pendergrass, James Shuls, and Avery Frank debunk common myths about K-12 open enrollment policies, addressing concerns about their impact...
