FRANKFORT. Ky. (WDRB) -- A special School Funding Task Force issued nine recommendations to improve Kentucky’s education system and the way it is funded.
Task force co-chair Sen. Max Wise termed it a “Christmas wish list,” and topping that list is full state funding for all-day kindergarten.
During the 2021 session, lawmakers approved $140 million to fund all-day kindergarten for one year. Now, the task force wants to make it permanent.
“We know right now we have a lot of workforce issues in the state," said Rep. James Tipton, the task force co-chair. "But long-term, it starts with early education."
Some districts have paid for all-day kindergarten on their own, but if the state picks up the tab, Tipton said it would free up local money for other programs.
“They might use those funds to increase teacher salaries," he said. "So it's freeing up dollars for local districts to invest where they need to invest in their own communities."
The wish list also includes changing the school funding formula, full state funding for school transportation, full funding of the School Safety and Resiliency Act of 2019 and money to expand use of the state’s Family Resource and Youth Services Centers, which provide wraparound services to students.
The recommendations would require the legislature to set aside more dollars for education.
“We are fortunate that revenues have exceeded our expectations," Tipton said. "So we're going to be going into the 2022 session with more revenue than we have had in the past."
“I think we also got to have some serious conversations about maybe comprehensive tax reform and some other ways to inject revenue into the state,” Wise added.
The task force also called for a review of recent studies measuring the full cost of educating “special student populations.” It also recommends developing a School District Impact Statement to inform legislators about any bill’s potential cost to school districts.
“There’s a lot of times we have unfunded mandates,” said Robbie Fletcher, superintendent of the Lawrence County School District and a task force member. “I think this is very important for school districts.”
The task force included both lawmakers and educators, and all voiced support for the recommendations.
Tipton and Wise said they believe all-day kindergarten and the impact statement have the best chance of passage during the 2022 session.
“We hope that education's going to be one of the top priorities for this legislative session,” Wise said.
While task force members know they will not get everything on their wish list right away, they hope the General Assembly responds more like Santa Claus and not the Grinch.
Click here to read the full list of recommendations.
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