Kentucky School Advocate
November 2019
Polls shows strong support for education funding 
In the annual PDK Poll, which measures public opinion about K-12 education, Americans continued to express their concern about the lack of financial support for public schools. Respondents named lack of funding as the biggest problem facing their local schools for the 18th consecutive year.
In the poll, 25 percent of all adults said inadequate financial support is the biggest problem and among teachers, even more – 36 percent – called lack of funding the biggest problem.
Sixty percent of respondents said schools have too little money, with even a majority of more affluent Americans saying the public schools in their community are underfunded. Although they were not willing to raise taxes to solve this problem, Americans said they are ready to vote for candidates who will support greater funding for public schools. About 9 in 10 parents, teachers and all adults supported using revenue from state lotteries for public schools. About three-quarters of all adults favored using taxes on legal recreational marijuana and 80 percent favored using taxes on sports gambling as school funding sources, the results show.
Task force to study state’s curriculum Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis has formed a task force to make recommendations for improving how schools develop curriculum.
The task force will assess the current curriculum’s strengths and needs, possibilities for policy, practice and equity improvement and make recommendations for strengthening the curriculum and ensuring it aligns with Kentucky’s academic standards.
“Currently, some Kentucky students have access to high-quality curriculum, but others do not. More often, it’s our most vulnerable learners who lack access,” Lewis said.
The 19-person task force is comprised of superintendents, district curriculum leads, principals, teachers, representatives from educational cooperatives, postsecondary faculty, representatives of the school council association, the governor’s office and the superintendent’s association.
Kentucky schools awarded $1.7 million to address school violence The Department of Justice has awarded more than $85.3 million to bolster school security, $1.7 million of which will go to Kentucky schools. The grant, awarded to the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative, Campbell County Schools, Rowan County Schools, Corbin Independent and the Letcher County Sheriff’s Department, will fund training for students and faculty and support first responders.
“Preventing school violence is critically important. We are appreciative that the Department of Justice provided the additional resources to schools in the Eastern District of Kentucky,” said Robert M. Duncan Jr., U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “These resources will help ensure a safe and secure learning environment for students and ultimately make schools and communities safer.”
The grants include funds to:
• Develop school threat assessment teams and pursue technological solutions to improve reporting of suspicious activity in and around schools.
• Implement or improve school safety measures, as well as the use of metal detectors, locks, lighting and other deterrent measures.
• Train law enforcement to help deter student violence.
• Improve notification to first responders through use of technology.
• Develop and operate anonymous reporting systems to encourage reporting of potential school threats.
• Train school officials to intervene when mentally ill individuals threaten school safety.
• Provide training and technical assistance to schools and other awardees in helping implement these programs.