House Dems, KEA, Sen. Kerr Cause Kentucky to Miss 'Race to the Top' Funding
In January we missed out on a great opportunity to allow school choice in Kentucky in the form of charter schools. Enabling legislation from legislators like Representative Stan Lee, Brad Montell and Senate Republicans were ignored by House Democrats, and the conversation was ultimately ended by Sen. Alice Kerr.
"Race to the Top" is one of the few (only?) initiatives of President Obama that we find meritorious, encouraging school choice and accountability. The requirements to receive this funding were ignored by the KEA and House Democrats, and Kentucky was rejected for funding in the first round.
Now, Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday has come around and stressed the changes Kentucky needs to make to qualify:
Without legislation enabling charter schools, Kentucky would finish out of the money in the second round of the federal Race To The Top program, said Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday.
"If we don't improve 30 to 40 points, I do not think we'll be competitive," Holliday said Tuesday. "And the only way to get 30 to 40 points is with charter school legislation."
So who's left standing in the way of Kentucky education funding?
Meanwhile, the board of directors of the Kentucky Education Association, the public school teachers' union, voted Tuesday night to oppose a charter schools measure now pending in the General Assembly...
...The general consensus around the Capitol is the charter school measure will face an uphill fight in the House and might have no chance if the Kentucky Education Association opposes it.
So, no funding for Kentucky thanks to the Kentucky Education Association and their Democratic allies in the House.
