Kentucky School Advocate
May 2022
KSBA staff report
KSBA Director of Advocacy Eric Kennedy, Rep. Ed Massey, R-Hebron, and Rockcastle Co. Schools Superintendent Carrie Ballinger testify in support of HB 678 in the House Education Committee.
One law passed during the session that districts can already use to their advantage is House Bill 678, which allows school construction projects to move forward without waiting for multiple approvals from the Kentucky Department of Education.“Leading up to this session, one consistent complaint that was brought to KSBA from districts everywhere, large and small, urban and rural, east and west, was the backlogs and delays of building construction approvals,” KSBA Director of Advocacy Eric Kennedy.
To find a solution, Rep. Ed Massey, R-Hebron, former KSBA president, Sen. Brandon Storm, R-London, and Sen. Jason Howell, R-Murray, formed a working group of board members, superintendents and KDE representatives. The result was HB 678.
The bill allows districts to move forward with construction, saving both time and money at a time when prices for materials have skyrocketed and delays can add millions to construction price tags.
“We sincerely thank Ed Massey for being the driving force behind this, but we also thank leadership in the House and Senate for agreeing to consider this and move it forward,” Kennedy said. “And we think Gov. Beshear for signing it into law quickly so that we can immediately move forward with projects that our students need, and avoid cost increases that we cannot afford.”
FenderCampbell County board member and KSBA Board of Directors member Kim Fender and Woodford County board chairwoman Dani Bradley represented board members on the working group.“Being a part of the work group that Rep. Massey brought together was a great experience,” Bradley said. “We were able to develop a bill, that had bipartisan support that will help districts across the commonwealth save money by avoiding delays with construction projects.”
Because it contained an emergency clause, the bill went into effect April 8 when the governor signed the bill.
For the next two years, districts will not need approvals for building plans or specifications, Chay Ritter, KDE’s director of District Support, explained during the April Superintendent’s Webcast. Districts can also use their capital outlay funds for projects without seeking KDE approval and use an architect’s estimate of the project for financing. Districts will still file BG-1s project applications, but only for record keeping purposes, Ritter explained.
Bradley Under the new law, KDE will have 30 days to approve district facility plans. And if extracurricular facilities are included on those plans, districts can use restricted funds for those projects without seeking a waiver from the Kentucky Board of Education.Until June 30, 2024, when the bill’s provisions lapse, KDE will revamp its construction approval process, Ritter said.
“It gives us a little time to on our side to review, you know how we’re doing things and hopefully make some good changes for you all,” he said.
Boards must adopt a resolution saying that they plan use the bill’s provisions for construction. As of late April, 34 school boards had adopted the resolution, Ritter said.
During the webcast Education Commissioner Jason Glass warned districts that people will be watching to see how districts handle their construction projects.
“We need decisions made that don’t attract any sort of negative attention related to corruption or graft or something that that would be embarrassing for your communities or for your legislators, because that will invite more legislation, more regulation to come back in,” he said.