The Kentucky education system is broken. That’s not some political statement I’m throwing out there to stir up drama. The numbers don’t lie.
The state of Kentucky is short about 11,000 teachers, and those we do have are paid among the lowest in the country.
This week, Gov. Andy Beshear said he’d like to see teachers get a 5% raise. That’s great, but how much of a difference will it make, if inflation is 7% or more? It needs to be more substantial than that.
There also needs to be a bigger focus on safety in order to attract and retain teachers. I can’t imagine any educators out there enjoy coming to work every day, when students are bringing guns to school.
I’m not so sure you can put a price tag on risking your life, especially if you don’t have too. Maybe it’s time to make classrooms bigger to help offset less teachers.
There also needs to be a focus on hiring more bus drivers. I’ve heard from parents who said their kid's bus is more than an hour late for pick up or drop off because the driver had to drive a double or triple route. Kids arriving to school late or getting home at dinner time because there aren’t enough bus drivers to transport them isn’t healthy for anyone. We need to invest in our kids' educational experience for everyone’s sake.
What’s your opinion? Call us or share on Facebook. I’m Dale Woods, and that’s my Point of View.
