BY VALARIE HONEYCUTT SPEARS

Local school districts should oversee charter schools if Kentucky’s General Assembly approves them in 2017, Fayette County Public school board members said at a meeting Tuesday night.

Board members won’t formally adopt legislative priorities until the monthly board meeting on Jan. 23.

But in a meeting with Babbage Cofounder lobbyists Alan Stein, Keen Babbage and Bob Babbage, who was in Washington, D.C., and participated by conference call, Fayette school board members reached consensus on several legislative issues.

Fayette County school officials have generally been opposed to charter schools, but board members want to have a role in setting state policy if charter schools are inevitable. In public charter schools, an organizer would enter into a performance-based contract, or charter, with an oversight board or entity that spells out the school’s governance, funding, accountability and flexibility.

“Given that charter schools appear to be on the horizon for Kentucky, Fayette County Board of Education members would like to ensure that implementation is fair and equitable,” district officials said in a news release after the meeting.

▪ In addition to deciding that local school districts should oversee charter schools, board members said charter schools should be non-profit and non-sectarian, and should reflect the demographics of the district where they are established.

▪ Board members said they oppose the use of public dollars to support programs that fund non-public schools, such as vouchers or tuition tax credits.

▪ Fayette school board members support local school district control over establishing the instructional calendar, support reform of the teacher tribunal disciplinary process, support providing districts with more tools to intervene in low achieving schools, and support revising school based decision making council regulations to give superintendents greater authority in selecting principals.

▪ School board members called for increased funding for education, including universal prekindergarten, and will support restoring state funding for education to previous or adequate levels.

▪ School board members support comprehensive tax reform and support addressing the unfunded liabilities of the public pension system.