On Monday, Mike Argabright trades in his longstanding role as education administrator for his work as Kansas lawmaker.
Argabright now represents the Kansas Senate 17th District, and he says he has two main priority groups — along with others — as he begins his new role.
Argabright also says policy benefiting veterans and military service personnel and emergency responders are his priorities, but there is a lot of work ahead across the board. On property tax relief — quite possibly the hottest topic in the Legislature this session — Argabright says the issue was clearly the biggest concern for constituents as he campaigned for the seat last year.
Education policy is obviously a concern for Argabright, who led USD 252 Southern Lyon County for 17 years after leading USD 389 Eureka as part of nearly 40-year career involved in education. He says he is not in favor of a new funding mechanism but is open to suggestions. Rural economic development is also at the top of Argabright’s list. Argabright has also been a supporter of Medicaid expansion, but leadership in the Republican party is not — so Argabright says the state and federal governments can adjust reimbursement levels to help rural hospitals stay viable.
Argabright’s first committee assignments: Education; Financial Institutions and Insurance; Judiciary; and Transportation.
Lawmakers begin the session Monday afternoon. Governor Laura Kelly’s annual State of the State Address is at 6:30 pm Wednesday. Due to prior broadcast commitments, KVOE will not air the State of the State but will have interviews with lawmakers representing Lyon County following the speech and the Republican response.
