School News from Around Kentucky

Superintendent's evaluation cancelled - New board could decide to evaluate him next year

A mid-year evaluation of Marion County Superintendent Donald Smith, which was scheduled for this past Monday, was cancelled after a majority of the school board decided it would be best to delay his evaluation until the newly-elected board convenes in January.

But, according to Superintendent Smith, no matter who conducts his evaluation, he is in a "no-win situation."

"I have nothing to hide," Smith said during the school board's meeting Tuesday of last week. "But I'm going to share this with you publicly... I will not sit there and take the abuse like I did the first year with a bunch of lies and innuendos. I'm just going to tell you that. I will not."

Smith went on to suggest that the newly elected board members, Ed Hacker, Michael Mullins and Mike Cecil, have their own "hidden agendas."

"I'm not even worried about it because people coming on already have they own hidden agendas and what they want," he said. "I'm not going to deal with it." ... (Lebanon Enterprise)

Dropout age could rise to 17 - Proposed bill would raise minimum age to 18 by 2015: Raising the state's minimum dropout age will be back on the table during the 2011 General Assembly. A bill to bump it to 17 years old in 2014 and to 18 years old in 2015 has been proposed by Rep. Reginald Meeks, D-Jefferson County. The issue is also being pushed as a priority by Gov. Steve Beshear, and by the Kentucky Board of Education. The board would like the age raised to 17 for the 2011-12 school year, and to 18 the following year. The legislative session begins Jan. 4, but bills can be filed in the Senate until Feb. 11, and House until Feb. 14.

"That's the main item on the board's agenda," said Lisa Gross, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education. "We have 6,000 kids who drop out of school every year." The current dropout age of 16 in Kentucky dates to early last century. "You used to be able to quit school at 16, go over to General Electric and get a good job," said Bellevue High School Principal Mike Wills. "The world doesn't work that way now. I really think the dropout age should be 18 - period." A similar bill co-sponsored by Meeks passed the House last year, but was killed in the Senate, with many opponents arguing that it did not provide financial support for districts to create or maintain programs to keep those kids in school. (Enquirer)

Program prepares students for college: Eastern Kentucky University and area high schools have joined forces in an effort to make the transition of taking college English courses a little easier. The program is similar to one that math departments at EKU and high schools already are using.Every student in Kentucky is required to take the ACT exam as a junior, and schools see how well a student fares in the English portion of the test.With the ACT results, schools can take students who did not reach the benchmark in English and place them with counselors and in developmental courses to better prepare them for college English. (Richmond Register)

New member of Fayette County school board named - Daryl Love will take over the District 5 seat on the Fayette County Board of Education: Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday on Friday named Love to fill the unexpired term of former board chairwoman Becky Sagan, who resigned in September because she was moving outside District 5. Two other people applied to be considered for the appointment. Love, who works in public relations for Asland Inc., will serve until the November 2011 election. The appointment of Love, who is black, assures continued African-American representation on the school board. The board's only current black member, Kirk Tinsely, lost in the November general election.
Love will be sworn in at a special school board meeting Jan. 6, along with incumbent Amanda Ferguson, who won re-election in November, and new board member Doug Barnett, who unseated Tinsely. The meeting will be held at Sandersville Elementary School. (Herald-Leader)

Sen. Shaughnessy jabs at David Williams over busing and bridges: Republican Senate President David Williams has created false expectations for Louisville residents on the issues of school busing and the construction of bridges over the Ohio River, said Democratic state Sen. Tim Shaughnessy of Louisville. Williams pre-filed legislation with Republican Sen. Dan Seum of Louisville that requires school districts to assign students to the school closest to their homes. “In reality, in a number of cases, you’re not going to be able to do that,” Shaughnessy said. He has filed his own bill in response to the Williams-Seum bill that would require the state to cover any costs associated with sending students to the school closest to them. “Both these legislators are Republicans,” Shaughnessy said. “They’re against unfunded mandates. But make no mistake about it: These are unfunded mandates.” Ousted Jefferson County School Superintendent Sheldon Berman said it would cost as much as $200 million to build new schools and handle transportation if the Williams-Seum neighborhood schools bill passed. Williams, in an interview, dismissed that estimate and noted that the school board opted not to renew Berman’s contract, thereby undermining his credibility on the issue. (CN2 Politics)

Census details poverty, low education in Eastern Kentucky - Louisville region among more prosperous areas: Kentucky has 13 counties, mostly in the eastern part of the state, whose median household incomes are below $25,000 — including Owsley County, which also has the nation's smallest percentage of bachelor's degrees, new U.S. Census Bureau data shows. The figures from the American Community Survey put the poverty and low education in Kentucky's rural regions in contrast to the more prosperous counties near Louisville, Lexington and Cincinnati. Ten Kentucky counties showed median income levels above $50,000 and are near cities in Central and Northern Kentucky. Four are in the Louisville area — Oldham, Bullitt, Spencer and Shelby. “It does certainly show the significant income disparities,” said Ron Crouch, director of research and statistics for the state Office of Employment and Training. (Courier-Journal)

Fayette schools enrollment keeps rising: Many state and national economic indexes may be struggling to climb out of the basement, but enrollment in the Fayette County Public Schools just keeps going through the roof. Enrollment rose by more than 1,000 students this year, district officials say. That comes on top of an increase of more than 700 students last year, which followed a jump of more than 630 in the 2008-2009 school year. Overall, Superintendent Stu Silberman says Fayette enrollment is up by more than 4,250 students since 2003-04. (H-L)