Credit: Andrew Breiner

Kansas embarked on an experiment with radical right-wing policies since Governor Sam Brownback (R) was elected in 2010, and it failed miserably. The centerpiece of the project, led by Governor Sam Brownback, was huge tax cuts, largely for wealthy individuals and businesses, based on the Republican orthodoxy that tax cuts create jobs.

Now, a teacher shortage appears to be the latest consequence of Kansas’ abject failure to manage its economy. It’s not hard to see why teachers don’t want to work in Kansas.

While the tax cut experiment didn’t create jobs, it did destroy the Kansas budget, and one major consequence of that has been massive funding cuts for Kansas schools. Several districts ended the school year early for lack of funds. Education funding levels are so low, and unequal across school districts, that judges have ruled them unconstitutional and the case is currently pending at the state Supreme Court.

Kansas’ teacher pay is among the lowest in the nation. The Kansas legislature has removed teachers’ tenure protections, […]