Saturday, October 24, 2009

School News from Around Kentucky

Lawmakers - New schools a local responsibility: Some lawmakers say they want Kentucky school districts to invest more in their oldest and most dilapidated schools rather than wait for additional state money. (H-L)

Farris - Some children being left behind: After seeing the latest No Child Left Behind scores for Clark County Public Schools, Superintendent Elaine Farris declared publicly that things would have to change. (Winchester Sun)

Grand jury says parents caused kid's fight on school bus: The Letcher County Grand Jury has named nine people in 11 indictments, including a Hallie couple charged with inciting their child and another child to attack the children of potential witnesses against the husband in a court case. (Mountain Eagle by way of KSBA)

Coyotes make River Ridge cautious: Coyotes have been spotted on the grounds of River Ridge Elementary School. Students at the school, located on Amsterdam Road, had recess indoors Wednesday after the coyotes were seen that morning on the playground. “We did spot two of them,” said Principal Shawna Harney. “Some of our staff members saw them.” No children were on the playground at the time. (NKy.com)

Kentucky Teachers of the Year: The announcement was made today at a ceremony at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet auditorium in Frankfort by Ashland Inc. and the Kentucky Department of Education... Jan Vaughn Horn, a fifth-grade language arts teacher at Shearer Elementary School in Clark County, was named 2010 Elementary School Teacher of the Year, and Melissa Evans, a seventh-grade science teacher at Corbin Middle School in the Corbin Independent school district, was named 2010 Middle School Teacher of the Year. (Enquirer)

Funding needed for lengthening school years: What do Murray Independent and Calloway County school district officials think of President Barack Obama's suggestion that youngsters spend more days in school; possibly shortening summer vacations?The move may or may not help, but if implemented, officials at both school districts hope any future mandates will come with funding to pay for them. (Murray Ledger & Times)

Bills seek to bring charter schools to Kentucky: The idea of charter schools has long failed to gain traction in Kentucky — but that could be changing. Two bills to authorize charter schools have been filed for the coming General Assembly, and the Kentucky Department of Education is currently studying the pros and cons. Supporters say momentum is building because without such legislation, Kentucky could lose out on up to $200 million in federal stimulus money aimed at education reform and innovation. (C-J)

Judge orders jail time instead of probation in sex abuse case: In a surprise move, a Fayette County judge decided Friday against a prosecutor's recommendation of probation and said jail time would be more appropriate for a teacher who admitted to raping and molesting a 15-year-old student more than 30 years ago. Fayette Circuit Judge James Ishmael Jr.'s decision during Roberta Blackwell Walter's sentencing prompted her attorney to request more time for his client to reconsider the guilty plea that she made earlier Friday as part of an agreement with the case's prosecutor. (H-L)

1 comment:

Michael L. Sparks said...

Lawmakers: New schools a local responsibility

I am in agreement that the upkeep of our schools should begin at the local level. Most counties in Kentucky tend to wait for state funding to begin the basic of repairs, leaving a small problem to often become a larger problem while the local School Board is waiting for the state funding to be allocated.
Kentucky counties should be the first line of general upkeep. These schools belong to all of us and we should demand that they are treated like the treasures they are in our communities. The repairs should at the very least be bid on and ever started before the State government has allocated the needed funds.
I live in Powell County and from time to time it is front page news that one of our schools are in need of this repair or that modification. I am also prepared to pay higher property taxes in order for our local School Boards to have more money available for school maintenance. Going from eight to ten cents per one hundred of assessed value would go a long way in most counties. This should be a top priority for all.
There are few uses of tax dollars that are more important than education. One might argue that education is the most important use of tax dollars. It is after all an investment in our future at the local as well as state levels. We, as citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky should take pride in our schools for what they have the potential to produce for all of us.