School News from Around Kentucky

Way to Go Ryland and Hinsdale: Kenton County schools know how to contribute to the community. Children Inc. recently recognized eight Kenton County schools as a School of Contribution at the 2009 Northern Kentucky Celebration of Philanthropy. Twenty eight schools were named School of Contribution out of the 60 schools in Northern Kentucky that work with Children Inc. on service learning projects locally and globally. School of Contribution designation means each school adopted a policy supporting service learning as well as at least 70 percent of the student body participated in at least one project during the 2008-2009 school year and more. (Enquirer)

Now you see him. Now you don't: The principal of Lewisburg Elementary School was replaced by the associate superintendent of Logan County Schools, according to officials.Superintendent Marshall Kemp said because of a personnel issue, Principal Barrett Nelson has been replaced by Associate Superintendent Janet Hurt. (Bowling Green Daily News)

KDE to end Danville's Free Ride - Danville schools must pay for central office: Although Danville' school district has used a Kentucky School for the Deaf building as its central office rent-free for seven years, the state education department says this needs to change. The Kentucky Department of Education told the district it may do one of three things — purchase the property, lease it or move out. (Advocate-Messenger)

To Benefit Students, Danville Throws out Adult Ed: The Danville/Boyle County Adult Education program found out Monday it has until the end of June to find a new home, and its employees call it an injustice to the community. The Danville Board of Education voted not to renew the contract, which means the program must find a new fiscal agent. The contract ends on June 30, 2010. As fiscal agent for the program, the Danville school district is responsible for providing a space and paying utilities and has done so for the past 40 years while adult ed has been housed in Danville High School. Danville school officials say it was a hard decision, but one that had to be made for the benefit of DHS students. Adult Education employees say the decision is an injustice to the community and to the adult students who benefit from the program. (Advocate-Messenger)

Clark School Board tells state to Keep Paws out of Contingency Funds: At its meeting Tuesday night, the Clark County Board of Education approved a resolution voicing its strong opposition to the legislature’s proposal at its meeting Tuesday. “This resolution is a way for us to publicly acknowledge our concern and our opposition to any attempt for the legislature to use any portion of school contingency funds to address the state’s budget shortfall,” said Judy Hicks, board chairwoman. (Winchester Sun)

Students are Right. Laws on Texting while Driving should evolve: The students in Leslie McCurry’s class already were actively encouraging the Kentucky General Assembly to move forward with needed laws banning texting while driving. Two bills have been introduced to the House by Representatives Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, and Rick Nelson, D-Middlesboro. While the bills differ in language and penalties, they share the goal of eliminating texting while driving in the commonwealth. (News-Enterprise)

Henry County Opposes Stumbo's Contingency Fund Raid: Board Chairman Donnie Tipton said HCPS has worked hard to keep the contingency fund at a rate that allows the district to plan for the future...The state requires two percent, though Abrams said the state recommends five percent. Keeping a high percentage in HCPS’ fund, he said, was a conscious effort by the board to handle emergency situations at its schools. The resolution states that using contingency funds for the operating budget is contrary to the funds’ purpose leaving some districts unable to respond to emergencies. (Henry County Local)

Frankfort Board Opposes State Taking Funds: The Frankfort Independent school board joined the chorus of educators publicly opposing the use of district contingency funds to balance the state budget. Superintendent Rich Crowe and Board of Education members signed a resolution Tuesday opposing the use of the funds to offset a predicted $161 million shortfall for the current fiscal year. The Franklin County Board of Education and other Kentucky school boards have signed similar resolutions. (State Journal by way of KSBA)

Middle School Hazing Incident: In Montgomery County, a group of McNabb Middle School basketball players are back on the court after being suspended for three games for hazing younger players. Some parents think the punishment was not severe enough. “No one should have to go through anything like this especially a 12 year old child. All they wanted to do was play basketball. They didn’t expect anything like this to happen,” 6th grade parent, Chandra Davis, said. (WTVQ)

Campbell Co. Staff Under Stress: There's no disagreement in Campbell County Schools that teachers are being asked to do more with fewer resources. Roseann McCafferty, a special needs teacher at Campbell County High School expressed her concern about increasing stress being put on teachers. McCafferty says she spoke up in the interest of bettering things for teachers in an impossible situation. McCafferty's speech drew a response of understanding from the board and superintendent. (Enquirer)

School annexation is under review by Cumberland council: The Cumberland City Council hopes to expand by annexing Cumberland Elementary School.City attorney Parker Boggs explained to the council the city just needed to ask the Harlan County Board of Education to let the city annex the school and bring it in officially as part of the city.Cumberland Mayor Loretta Cornett said it would be nice to have the school that carries the city’s name be part of the city. (Harlan Daily Enterprise)