Courtesy of Kentucky Lantern
March 5, 2024
FRANKFORT — The House Education Committee gave approval to two pieces of legislation that would look at the management of public schools in Kentucky.
One bill would take a deep dive into the Kentucky Department of Education’s programming while a resolution opposed by Louisville school officials would create a task force to review Jefferson County Public Schools.
House Bill 825 calls for a special examination audit of the Kentucky Department of Education. The bill’s primary sponsor, Rep. James Tipton, R-Taylorsville, is the chair of the committee. He said the exam could highlight some of the good things happening in the department as well as areas that require further work.
“I truly believe that we, as members of the Kentucky General Assembly, have a responsibility and an obligation to the citizens of our state, the taxpayers of our commonwealth, to oversee the functions of state agencies and state government,” the chairman said.
Kentucky Auditor Allison Ball’s office would be required to return its findings to the Interim Joint Committee on Education by July 1, 2025. The bill says the audit must assess KDE’s operational effectiveness in the schools, departments, projects and other initiatives it oversees. KDE’s general operating fund would cover the cost of the examination.
The audit may review areas such as “diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives,” “academic standards,” “state board oversight of the commissioner of education” and more.
Tipton said the examination would be the first of its nature for the department. He added that now would be an opportune time for a special audit, as the state school board is currently searching for its next commissioner of education. The previous commissioner, Jason Glass, left in September.
“Auditor Ball believes in government transparency and accountability, and she is prepared to conduct an audit on any entity the General Assembly deems necessary,” said Joy Pidgorodetska Markland, the communications director for Ball.
Interim Commissioner of Education Robin Fields Kinney said in a statement that KDE takes its responsibility seriously on the amount of significant state and federal funding it receives.
“To that end, we understand the importance of financial and programmatic audits to assist us in ensuring that we are managing funds effectively and implementing programs with fidelity. We always welcome findings that help us improve our processes,” she said.
KDE undergoes financial audits and performance audits each year, Kinney added, including from the auditor’s office as well as the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Understandably, by the nature of any audit or special examination, time spent by staff in assisting auditors impacts the level of service in day-to-day operations for local school districts and other interested constituents,” Kinney said. “However, in the event HB 825 is passed by the General Assembly, KDE will be available and responsive to the work of the APA, as is our practice in audits already conducted on a regular basis.”
The committee forwarded the bill with 16 votes from Republicans and Democrats. Rep. Ken Fleming, R-Louisville, listens to discussion a House Education Committee meeting. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)
JCPS task force
The committee also forwarded a bill that would review the governance of Kentucky’s largest public school district, Jefferson County Public Schools. House Concurrent Resolution 81 would establish the “Efficient and Effective School District Governance Task Force” under the Legislative Research Commission.
The resolution’s primary sponsor, Rep. Ken Fleming, R-Louisville, said the task force would be an “opportunity” to review what’s working and what isn’t in JCPS.
“It’s not an attack on the school district,” Fleming told his colleagues. “It is not designed with an embedded predetermined conclusion, despite what people say.”
The resolution specifically mentions reviewing “options for the creation of new school districts,” an idea that Republicans in Frankfort have repeatedly wanted to explore in the past for Jefferson County.
The task force would study district governance and administration models in county school districts with more than 75,000 enrolled students and compare them with similar school districts in other states. JCPS is the only school district that meets that criteria.
Eleven Republicans on the committee voted in favor of the resolution. GOP Reps. Kevin Jackson, Scott Lewis and Timmy Truett passed on the vote.. Democratic Reps. Tina Bojanowski, Josie Raymond and George Brown Jr. were joined by Republican Rep. Killian Timoney in voting against it. Corrie Shull, the chairman of the JCPS Board of Education, left, speaks as Superintendent Marty Pollio listens during a House Education Committee meeting. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)
Marty Pollio, the superintendent of JCPS, told the committee that the resolution is just another “attack on JCPS.” He said the task force will find that deconsolidation of the district would bring a new host of challenges to the system.
The General Assembly isn’t addressing the “main thing” for Kentucky’s school districts, Pollio said, which is teacher vacancies, bus driver vacancies and student attendance. Lawmakers are instead focusing on other topics. He pointed to a law that passed last year allowing community members to challenge books in schools. Pollio said zero book challenges have come before the JCPS Board of Education since then.
“I am scared for the future of education in this commonwealth, what it will be like 10 years from now,” he said.
Corrie Shull, the chairman of the JCPS Board of Education, said the district faces unique challenges that lawmakers can help overcome but “this type of resolution does not do that.” Numerous recent audits and reviews are also publicly available, he said.
Six other Jefferson County GOP House members, including Majority Whip Jason Nemes, are co-sponsors of the resolution.
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter.
