The Kentucky State Legislature is not allowed to pass a law that is in clear and direct violation of the State Constitution. It did anyway.
The Constitution, right there in Section 59, explicitly says our General Assembly "may not pass any legislation that affects the management of the school district in only one place or favors one school district over another." But our general assembly DID pass a bill designed to apply ONLY to Jefferson County Public Schools. In it, the legislature shifted substantial power away from the elected board to the appointed school superintendent. To be clear, NO OTHER school district in the entire state is affected by this law.
The courts are a safety net to protect us from unconstitutional laws going into effect. So this faulty law went to the Jefferson County Court and the Court of Appeals, who both ruled it clearly violated the Constitution's prohibition against specialized legislation. Then, it went to the Kentucky Supreme Court, and, despite the clear language, four of the seven members voted that singling out Jefferson County for this unique treatment was OK, because, one day, some other county might be like ours. Because the state Constitution is so clear, the Supreme Court, rather than interpreting and protecting the law, chose instead to be political activists.
I worry this is the beginning of open season for those in power to target individual places in our commonwealth for special or unfair treatment. Today, it's JCPS. Tomorrow, it could be you. Those justices failed us by allowing us to be singled out.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, but, remember, this isn't about whether JCPS needs improvement. It does. This is about a Supreme Court that failed to uphold the law.
I'm Bill Lamb, and that's my Point of View.
