LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The Jefferson County Board of Education met Monday to discuss rewriting nearly 100 policies to comply with Kentucky's newly passed Senate Bill 1.
SB1, which will take affect July 15 barring a successful challenge, shifts power from the school board to Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Brian Yearwood on spending, staffing and policies.
Yearwood will get more authority on daily operations such as contracts, transportation, personnel matters and organizational structures. The board will still approve the overall budget and set the tax rate, but anything SB1 doesn't specifically spell out will default to the superintendent.
Back in January, before the bill passed, Yearwood testified against the legislation alongside the teacher's union president and board member James Craig.
"My board members know Louisville better than I do because they were elected by the people of Jefferson County," Yearwood told lawmakers at the time. "They give me guidance every day about how to navigate the complexities of our community, and I need that."
Gov. Andy Beshear also opposed the bill and vetoed it, though lawmakers ultimately overrode that veto.
Asked Monday whether his views had changed now that the bill has become law, Yearwood said the focus remains on students.
"It's not about how I feel," Yearwood said. "If I can impact students more, hey, that's all I want."
The new law also changes how the school board can intervene in superintendent decisions.
Under SB1, many board actions will still require only a simple majority vote like normal. But when it comes to overriding the superintendent on rules, regulations or policies, the law raises the threshold to a two-thirds vote.
With the board shrinking from seven members to five under SB4, this means four out of five members would need to agree.
Board member Linda Duncan said is worried the differing voting requirements could create confusion.
"We are going to have a referee to determine these," Duncan said. "Because it's not going to be clear to the public at all why sometimes it's four and sometimes it's not."
The law also allows the superintendent to approve purchases of $250,000 or less without board approval.
That provision comes after an audit found spending decisions made during former superintendent Marty Pollio's administration were among the factors that contributed to JCPS' budget crisis.
Yearwood said transparency will remain a priority under the new requirements.
"I can't speak to the former superintendent, but I can tell you this," Yearwood said. "For me, we will continue to be transparent."
JCPS Executive Administrator of Policy & Systems Jonathan Lowe said the district is still working through parts of the legislation to make sure the district is complying with the law.
"The language of SB 1 isn't always clear, so we've had debates about 'does this apply,'" Lowe said.
The proposed policy changes discussed Monday are expected to come before the board for a vote at its next meeting.
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