The Catholic Conference of Kentucky; Kentucky Chamber of Commerce; Kentucky Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; Kentucky Congress of Parents and Teachers; Kentucky Association of Professional Educators; Kentucky Education Association; Kentucky Association of School Administrators; Kentucky School Boards Association; Kentucky Association of School Councils; Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence; Kentucky Association of School Superintendents confirmed their support for Governor Steve Beshear's plan to resolve Kentucky's budget crisis.Present inadequate funding...
leaves Kentucky schools trailing the nation,
reversing gains, and falling further behind.
The groups warn that continued educational progress is at risk in Kentucky due to inadequate funding. Kentucky currently ranks 41st in funding, but 34th (or so) in overall student achievement an historic high. The educators fear that failure to continue adequate investment in Kentucky's public schools will put those gains at risk.
Kentucky has been reenacting an historic pattern over time - where the legislature makes a big push to improve schools, increases school finding, and then forget about the schools for asw much as a decade or more.
All Kentuckians, not only those with children, suffer from the effects of inadequate education and education funding. The impact falls most heavily on the most disadvantaged, including those who are least prepared to become productive members of the community. Negative effects include: lost economic opportunities and limited economic growth; diminished quality of life; increased costs for health care and other social expenditures. By failing to invest in education now, we burden ourselves with increasing future costs caused by an under-educated workforce...
...We believe that without renewed commitment to funding that is sufficient to fulfill increased educational expectations, implementation of improvements and continued academic gains are impossible. In the short term, the coalition supports the effort to significantly increase state taxes on tobacco products that will generate immediate additional revenue to support improvements in public health and health care as well as in education.
The groups cite the following evidence:
Kentucky’s education funding investments have made a positive difference.
- A comprehensive education performance index developed by the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center ranks Kentucky as 34th among the 50 states, up from 43rd in 1992. www.kltprc.net/policynotes/pn0023_education_index.pdf
- On the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Kentucky students’ scores and Kentucky’s rank among the states have improved in fourth grade reading and science and 8th grade science. www.prichardcommittee.org – Top 20 by 2020 information
- Kentucky has increased the number of adults with high school diplomas and those with college degrees as well as the number of students achieving college credit through the Advance Placement program. www.prichardcommittee.org --Top 20 by 2020 information
- Since 2003, the percentage of teens not attending school and not working has significantly declined. www.kidscount.org
Kentucky achieves a good return on its investments in education.
- Kentucky ranks 8th among the states in the 2005 academic return on our P-12 investment according to the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center’s 2008 report. www.kltprc.net/policynotes/pn0026_education_funding.pdf
- A U.S. Chamber of Commerce report card ranks Kentucky 17th among the states in education return on investment. www.uschamber.com/icw/reportcard/default
Inadequate funding leaves Kentucky trailing the nation, reversing gains and falling further behind.
Kentucky school funding trails the nation.
- Public Education Finance 2006 report: Kentucky schools receive an average of $7,827 per student compared to the U.S. average of $9,797. Kentucky ranks 41st among states. www.kltprc.org
Cuts have resulted in losses in services and programs.
- Reductions in state funding for this year have resulted in fewer students being served by safe schools programs, fewer students receiving extra help through extended school services, and fewer teachers receiving high-quality professional development to keep their skills up-to-date. www.kycbe.com
- More students will be using old textbooks because of budget cuts. www.education.ky.gov
- 100 of Kentucky’s 175 school districts have fewer teachers this year than last year, reducing the number of education professionals serving students’ needs. www.education.ky.gov
SOURCE: Education Coalition press release
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