Ninety-three school districts have been awarded $8.13 million to replace 169 older diesel school buses with cleaner diesel or propane buses, Gov. Andy Beshear and Energy and Environment Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Goodman announced.
“The past year has been enormously difficult for Kentucky’s school districts, and this is one area where we can give them much-deserved support,” Beshear said. “These buses will better protect our environment and will mean healthier air for the children in these 93 districts.”
In 2016, the U.S. Justice Department settled claims against Volkswagen for using defeat devices in 2009-2016 Volkswagen diesel vehicles, which allowed the vehicles to emit up to 40 percent more nitrogen oxides than allowed under the Clean Air Act. Kentucky was awarded $20.3 million from the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust. Beshear recommended that the settlement funds be used to replace more than 150 school buses across the state.
The Kentucky General Assembly authorized $8.5 million to reimburse local school districts for up to 50 percent of the cost to replace up to five school buses per district. The 2020 General Assembly approved expenditures beginning July 1, 2020. There is $393,000 remaining in the fund.
New state awards for classified staff
Shelly Thomas, youth service center coordinator for the Barren County School District, has worked at the district since 2017. (Photo provided by KDE)
Two Kentucky classified school employees – one from Barren County and one from Harrison County – are the first recipients of the Kentucky Education Support Staff Professional (KESSP) Award.Shelly Thomas, youth service center coordinator for the Barren County School District, and Robert Walker, school safety and wellness coordinator for Harrison County Schools, received the awards during a Jan. 19 virtual ceremony that included the governor and lieutenant governor.
Thomas and Walker will represent Kentucky in the competition for the national Recognizing Inspiring School Employees (RISE) Award, to be presented this spring by the U.S. Department of Education.
Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman created the KESSP Award, which is intended to be an annual event, to recognize the work of Kentucky’s more than 46,000 classified school employees.
Robert Walker, left, school safety and wellness coordinator for Harrison County Schools, receives his award from Superintendent Harry Burchett. (Photo provided by KDE)
“These employees often are the unsung heroes of our school systems,” said Education Commissioner Jason Glass said. “Classified school employees serve in vital and often overlooked roles, from driving our kids to school, to preparing their meals, to working with partner agencies to ensure vital care health needs are met.”Thomas has been youth service center coordinator at Barren County High School since 2017, where she works with local agencies to help students and their families. Walker has worked for Harrison County Schools for 21 years, mentoring and counseling students.
New resource for teachers, parents on KET
KET has a new digital resource to help students with civics education. Social Studies Shorts, narrated by News Quiz host Kelsey Starks, introduces students in grades 4-8 to key social studies and civics topics. Episodes cover such topics as the presidential inauguration, the Kentucky General Assembly, branches of government and how a bill becomes a law. New topics will be added each month through May and can be found in the News Quiz collection on PBS LearningMedia.