Kansas School Spending - NYTimes.com Re "Shortchanging Kansas Schoolchildren" (editorial, Oct. 14): Kansas has great schools. Kansas" children outperform New York's in several measures of academic achievement. The Kansas Legislature passed landmark legislation for students that is now used as a national model for career and technical education. Since I was elected, state spending on K-12 education has increased by more than $200 million, and teacher salaries have risen. Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to increase spending on education and cut taxes at the same time. The 2011 decline in per-pupil spending was a result of expiring federal stimulus funds. The Legislature did not cut taxes at that time. Gov. Mark Parkinson had to raise taxes just to provide the level of funding described as inadequate in the lawsuit. Your editorial provides direction to the Kansas courts on the pending school finance lawsuit. You seem to believe that their rulings should reflect the values and priorities of the editorial board of The New York Times. I believe that they should reflect the values and priorities of Kansans. SAM BROWNBACK Governor Topeka, Kan., Oct. 30, 2013