“To find a problem and research it, they knocked the walls of this school down. It really broadened their horizons. They started considering other people instead of just the project. My biggest goal this year as a teacher has been to allow student voice and choice. Clearly, they take their schoolwork far more personally if it’s something that they can relate directly to.” Henry County High School teacher Andrew Shearer on some of the projects undertaken by his students, from creating devices to help people with disabilities (as this student is doing in taking measurements for a deerstand wheelchair lift) to designing concussion-reducing cushions for football helmets. From the Eminence Henry County Local.
“The time to fix Kentucky’s current public employee retirement system is behind us. Someone in state government is going to have to address the current problem: there simply is not enough money to cover our debts. In other words, the state needs to look at a tax to pay for what it’s already borrowed. Unfortunately, it looks like the state may be heading in that direction in the wrong way. They’ve asked individual school districts to start showing their liabilities for future contributions. The next step down that road is to ask those districts to fund those shortfalls themselves. As districts raise funds through property taxes, that means homeowners will again bear the lion’s share of that significant burden. The state should veer off this course as soon as possible. A tax of some sort to cover the $30 billion is inevi-table. But there are plenty of places to tax outside of home and business owners.” Portion of an edito-rial echoing a worry local school leaders have voiced as state leaders explore options to address pen-sion funding problems, including those of the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System. From the Cadiz Record.
“Sometimes it boils down to the money. We feel that’s irresponsible as far as the budget is con-cerned.” Hickman County Board of Education Chairman Allen Kyle on his board’s decision to limit re-lease of funding for nonresident students to a maximum of 10 to each of four neighboring districts. From WPSD-TV in Paducah.
“Everything’s unknown, but the forecast’s a lot better for the next few years than once was thought about 18 months ago. Hopefully the worst is over and we’ve turned the corner. We’ll sit down and evaluate things after the first of the year and hopefully we’ll be able to re-establish some pay that was cut in the previous year.” Muhlenberg County Board of Education Chairman Kelly Tarter on the impact of an unexpected $1.1 million in additional Tennessee Valley Authority funding the cash-strapped dis-trict will receive this fiscal year. From SurfKY News of Madisonville.
“This is a game changer for our students as they have the resources to be college/career ready and can obtain that at Fulton County High School. We all play a part in this success as we prepare students ready to enter high school and now MSU. Every one of us plays a vital role in teaching our young peo-ple and we are part of a game changer for our students and our students are given skills and resources that will make them successful citizens that contribute to our community’s success.” Fulton County Schools Superintendent Aaron Collins on Murray State University beginning to offer courses at the school’s area technology center that serves students from four districts. From the Clinton Hickman County Gazette.