Hello, come learn about education

Olivia Krauth, Louisville Courier Journal
·4 min read

This is going to sound like a joke, but I am quite serious when I ask for a favor. Can everyone head over to LEO Weekly’s website and vote for me for Best Twitter Feed?

Voting closes Wednesday, and you can vote once a day. Help me avenge my Third Place Twitter Feed showing from last year and beat *checks notes* an editorial cartoonist and a sports blogger.

Flood waters rise along Right Beaver Creek, submerging business in the town of Garrett, Kentucky, following a day of heavy rain. July 28, 2022
Flood waters rise along Right Beaver Creek, submerging business in the town of Garrett, Kentucky, following a day of heavy rain. July 28, 2022

EKY schools to see relief

Flood-ravaged schools in Eastern Kentucky are getting some sorely needed help thanks to a $212.6 million relief package passed during a special legislative session last week.

I visited Whitesburg and, in the west, Dawson Springs recently to see what districts need when disaster strikes. Much of what educators wanted made it into the legislation, but not at the level district leaders hoped for.

For EKY, districts will be able to access millions in funding to repair and rebuild damaged schools, along with providing things like mental health support and outside tutoring when students return.

They’ll also be able to waive school days missed due to the flooding (some districts haven’t been able to reopen and don’t know when they’ll be able to do so) and use up to 20 targeted remote learning days.

In WKY, districts will see some tax base stabilization to help keep budgets balanced despite plummeting property tax revenue. Expect to see a similar option for EKY schools in the future.

If you prefer hearing your news, I talked about Kentucky’s special session on NPR’s Here and Now on Monday.

We’re going down, down (down, down)

For the second year in a row, JCPS is lowering its property tax rate (pending board approval Tuesday night).

The proposed tax is 76.3 cents per $100 of assessed value — down from 80.6 cents in 2020-21. I don’t know exactly how this translates to you because I don’t know how much your home is worth now versus in 2020-21.

Despite the lower tax, JCPS still gets the maximum revenue increase allowed under state law without triggering a recall period since property values are going up. That means about $19.7 million in new funding JCPS plans on primarily spending on instruction and facility updates.

If you have thoughts about this, you can show up to the annual tax rate hearing at 5 p.m. at JCPS’ central office. Full board meeting starts at 6 p.m.

A group of parents and kids gathered outside the VanHoose Education Center for a "No More Masks" rally ahead of the Jefferson County Public Schools board meeting in Louisville Tuesday, March 8, 2022.
A group of parents and kids gathered outside the VanHoose Education Center for a "No More Masks" rally ahead of the Jefferson County Public Schools board meeting in Louisville Tuesday, March 8, 2022.

0.8% of 500

Masks are required for another week in JCPS as Jefferson County heads into its second month in the red. The JCPS school board meets Tuesday night, so there could be another attempt to discuss changing the mask policy, but I don’t think the board got a fourth vote in favor of adding it to the agenda since the last meeting.

JCPS is now just one of four school districts requiring universal masking out of the country’s 500 largest districts, FYI.

Kelly Craft applauds after combining her bid with Central Bank's for a total bid of five million dollars for the country ham at the Kentucky State Fair. The money for the ham will go to charity. Aug. 25, 2022
Kelly Craft applauds after combining her bid with Central Bank's for a total bid of five million dollars for the country ham at the Kentucky State Fair. The money for the ham will go to charity. Aug. 25, 2022

Max makin’ moves?

Senate Education Chair Max Wise appears to be eyeing greener pastures.

Wise tweeted a few photos from the hottest party of the year, the Kentucky Country Ham Breakfast, last week. Now, anyone who has been following me since the Derby knows I can spot Kelly Craft anywhere ... including in the background of one of Wise's photos.

Craft and Wise have both weighed joining the crowded race to be the Republican facing Gov. Andy Beshear next year, and it is widely expected for a Craft/Wise ticket to drop in the coming week or so.

Not helping the rumor mill is a countdown Wise has been tweeting out. It could absolutely be the most obvious answer, a countdown to UK’s first home football game. But it would be wild for Craft/Wise to upstage such a beloved day for some in the Commonwealth. (When asked about the football countdown angle, Wise responded, "Who’s counting down to football?")

Also not helping the rumor mill? Wise’s daughter, Grayson, was quick to retweet my initial tweet about her dad’s tweet lightly featuring Craft.

When asked about rumors of her run, Craft responded, in part, "I am focused on buying this country ham."

Where is the CAO?

After spending the summer without a Chief Academic Officer, JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio told my colleague Mandy McLaren he hopes to hire a new CAO by the end of the September.

One thing Pollio is looking for in the next instructional leader? Someone who can lead JCPS through centralizing curriculum over the coming year after a new state law moved curriculum selection away from school-level councils.

Missed y'all

We had a smashing good time at The Courier Journal’s first school board candidate forum last week. Here’s a replay of what District 1 — board chair Diane Porter’s district — candidates said. Our next forum is for District 5 — aka Linda Duncan’s seat — and will be Sept. 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the Fairdale library branch.

Your homework

Please just vote for me for Best Twitter Feed. OK, bye.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Hello, come learn about education