Thursday, June 27, 2013

KASS goal is funding levels back at '08 mark

This from the Bowling Green Daily News by way of KSBA:
Simpson County Public Schools Superintendent Jim Flynn is the new president of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents, and he’s got a lot of work to do.

The Franklin resident and 1982 Bowling Green High School graduate sees public education funding – at least restoring it to the 2008 level which is a $740 million challenge – as the association’s No. 1 goal. There are plans for superintendents to more aggressively lobby state lawmakers, driving home the point that more revenue is needed and that cutbacks are starting to affect the quality of instruction.

“Don’t discount the power of education. It is our responsibility to be an advocate for the superintendents,” he told members of the KASS executive committee last week, noting a push on lawmakers in January when the regular legislative session begins might be too late.

Flynn said educators are expected to get kids college- and career-ready with less resources than in years past.

Completing his 10th year as Simpson superintendent, Flynn, 49, said it is great to continue work with KASS executive director Wilson Sears, who coached him in football at BGHS in the fall of 1979, 1980 and 1981.

Flynn’s spouse, Natalie, teaches at Briarwood Elementary School. The Flynns have three children. His parents, Jim and Lana, live in Bowling Green. 

Flynn recently obtained his doctorate in educational leadership from Northern Kentucky University. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree with a major in biology and a minor in chemistry in 1986 from WKU. 

While receiving a Master of Science degree in secondary education in 1991 from Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi, Texas, he was an assistant archaeologist for the Corpus Christi Museum and helped build giant vats that artifacts from the ocean floor could be placed in to take off rust and corrosion. He was assistant principal at Greenwood High School from 1992 to 1994.

KASS completed its 2013 Summer Institute last week at the Sloan Convention Center. Flynn has served on the KASS board of directors since 2006 and was appointed to the Local Superintendents Advisory Committee in 2010. He serves on the board of directors for the Franklin Simpson Chamber of Commerce and the Franklin Simpson Industrial Authority.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good luck but with tax receipts reportedly down I am thinking we have a better chance of making ourselves 5 years younger than we are to get funding levels returned to five years ago, much less where they should be in order to support the initiatives and expectations which have been heaped on educators these last five years.

An ironic part to all of this is that we are trying to apply a corporate model to education and in some areas we are actually seeing some progress but unlike the buisness world our "profits" are of a non finanical benefit. Its not like getting higher standarized scores is going to get us more customers or generate more revenue. I am not saying that comparatively higher student performance isn't of great importance but we're not doing missionary work here. We expect high levels of education and professional accountability, there should be a legitimate level of compensation for folsk who haven't seen a raise during that five year period. Who wants to work somewhere that greater effort nad higher expectations of employees results in better company performance but results in no receiprocal employee benefit?