New year, new training rules
School board members who begin their initial service on or after Jan. 1 will fall under new annual in-service training requirements that kick in on that date. The requirements for those who fall into this category will be 12 hours for those with zero to eight years of experience; and eight hours for school board members with more than eight years of experience. Though they will fall under the new requirement, incoming board members with previous board experience can count those years when determining their current service level.
Board members in office as of Dec. 31 of this year will continue under the current requirements, which are 12 hours for those with zero to three years of experience; eight hours for members with four to seven years of experience; and four hours for those with eight or more years of service.
In addition, all board members, regardless of length of service, are required by the Kentucky Board of Education to receive the following training:
• Zero–three years of experience: three hours of finance, one hour of ethics and one hour of superintendent evaluation annually.
• Four–seven years of experience: two hours of finance, one hour of ethics and one hour of superintendent evaluation annually.
• Eight or more years of experience: one hour of finance, one hour of ethics and one hour of superintendent evaluation biennially.
Trio of recognitions
A state education department official, retiring school public relations employee and a nonprofit all received awards at the Fall Institute of the Kentucky School Public Relations Association. KDE Chief of Staff Dr. Tommy Floyd was recognized for exceptional leadership and dedication to public education in receiving the Richard Thornton Award, established in 2001 to honor the contributions to public education made by Thornton, a longtime KYSPRA member and past president of the National School Public Relations Association. Floyd is a former superintendent of Madison County Schools.
The retiring public relations employee for Pulaski County Schools was honored with the O.V. Jones Memorial Award for outstanding service to KYSPRA and the school public relations profession. Sherry Super received that award, named for the late Superintendent O.V. Jones of Grant County Schools, the first superintendent to join KYSPRA.
The Public Life Foundation of Owensboro received the Flag of Learning & Liberty, given annually to a person, group or corporation outside the education field that has made a significant contribution to public education in Kentucky.
Burrows on anti-bullying panel
Trimble County school board member Scott Burrows was one of several additional people appointed to join earlier-announced members of a statewide anti-bullying task force. Burrows, a businessman who has served nearly eight years on the Trimble County board, will work with the 25 other members of the Kentucky Youth Bullying Prevention Task Force to analyze existing laws and policies; interview school professionals, bullying victims and other experts; and collect training and resource materials. The task force will make recommendations to Gov. Steve Beshear.
i see a grant
The Green River Regional Educational Cooperative is in line for a $3 million federal Investing in Innovation (i3) grant. The co-op submitted one of the 26 highest-rated applications for the funding, aimed at developing innovative approaches to improving student achievement and replicating effective strategies across the country. The 26 must secure private-sector matching funding by Dec. 10 to receive the federal grant. GRREC’s proposal is in what the U.S. education department calls the “development” stage, which, according to the department “supports promising new ideas for further development.”