Kentucky School Advocate
June 2023
Two co-ops receive nearly $17 million for mental health services
The U.S. Department of Education has selected two educational cooperatives to receive nearly $17 million for school-based mental health services. The West Kentucky Educational Cooperative (WKEC) will receive $2.9 million over five years and the Green River Regional Educational Cooperative (GRREC) will receive $13.9 million over five years.
“I applaud the U.S. Department of Education for this funding, the educational cooperatives for their leadership and the participating school districts for prioritizing their students’ mental health,” said Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, who presented the grants May 22 in Bowling Green.
WKEC will use the funding to create Partner and Connect: MSU/WKEC Mental Health Providers Academy in which WKEC will partner with Murray State University to train and credential 30 mental health providers and place them in 14 school districts.
“WKEC is thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity to train mental health counselors through our recently received grant,” said Gretchen Wetzel, WKEC executive director.
GRREC will use the funds to initiate Project ACCESS (Acquiring Clinical Counselors for Equitable Student Services) in Mental Health. In partnership with Western Kentucky University, GRREC will recruit, train and hire 45 licensed mental health counselors who will serve students in 184 schools in the GRREC region.
“The Project ACCESS grant empowers us to create a significant, positive influence on students’ overall well-being,” said Bart Flener, GRREC executive director. “By fostering collaborations with the community and implementing innovative approaches, we are defining a new benchmark for exceptional mental health support in educational environments.”
EPA clean school bus funding
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published its 2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity. The agency anticipates awarding approximately $400 million in competitive grant funding under the Clean School Bus Grants Program Notice of Funding Opportunity.
The program is soliciting applications to fund the replacement of existing school buses with clean and zero-emission school buses, which includes electric, propane or compressed natural gas school buses, as well as the purchase of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) infrastructure and EVSE installations.
Applications must be submitted electronically to the EPA through Grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on Aug. 22.
The EPA is targeting large, single-fleet turnovers that may have been limited by the 25-bus maximum in the rebate program. The EPA anticipates a total of approximately 25 to 50 cooperative agreements under this announcement. No cost sharing or matching is required. Applicants in the School District Sub-Program must request a minimum of 15 school buses and can request up to a maximum of 50 school buses.
CERS board increases return rate
The County Employees Retirement System (CERS) Board of Trustees voted on May 9 to increase the assumed rate of return for its investment portfolios to 6.50% from 6.25%. The increase covers the CERS Nonhazardous and Hazardous pension and insurance funds.
The move was supported by Kentucky Public Pensions Authority investment staff, investment consultant Wilshire, and the systems’ actuary GRS.
“This increase parallels the pension and insurance plans’ consistent performance since 1984 of 8.5% to 9% or better,” said Betty Pendergrass, CERS board chair. “More importantly, the board’s funding strategy shifts the funding burden from taxpayers to investment markets with a prudent asset allocation strategy.”
As they do each year, GRS will perform an actuarial valuation for the Fiscal Year ending June 30 that will incorporate the new assumed rate of return and demographic assumptions, as well as actual experience from FY 2023.
GRS projected that the 25-basis point increase in the assumed rate of return, coupled with the recommended demographic changes, could lower the CERS Nonhazardous employer contribution rate by 2.82 percentage points to 20.52% for Fiscal Year 2025, which begins July 1, 2024.