KASA will host a standing real-time, virtual Capitol Connection called Policy Pulse: Analyzing #KYGA24. This 60-minute session will be held each Friday at 2 p.m. EST / 1 p.m. CST.
KASA members will hear the latest news from the Capitol, enjoy guest speakers addressing key issues, and a Poll Question.

Click here to join us Next Week at 2 p.m. EST. Be sure to respond to the poll question – responses will be part of the discussion.

Join early - the session is limited to the first 100 people! 

Poll Question:
Which of the following statements best reflects the future outlook for public education?
  • Public education is destined to struggle with subpar academic performance (specifically in math/reading) and safety (unfunded mandates) due to budget constraints.
  • Despite limited funding, schools have the potential to excel and achieve more with less.
  • Schools have sufficient financial resources and should demonstrate improved performance.

Click here to submit your response to the poll question

Background:
As school safety has unfortunately become a critical issue in our culture, school districts across the country turned to the concepts of SROs - armed individuals who are well-trained, especially when it comes to working with students, on how to best maintain school safety regarding incidents ranging from student fights to active shooters. State law now requires SROs in every school. The only problem - school districts can't afford SROs for every school, and even if they could, not enough trained SROs are available.

The solution, according to SB 2, 2024 General Assembly, is to allow lesser trained, possibly armed individuals referred to as 'Guardians' to fill-in until such time districts can have a full complement of SROs.

Sound familiar? Schools need well trained classroom teachers but can't afford to pay the salaries that attract and retain these individuals. The solution, lesser trained emergency, and option certified individuals to man our classrooms until such time we can get well-trained, high-quality teachers back in our schools thrive if these stop-gap solutions are in fact the reality of our future?

Education funding (K-12, TRS and school construction) has been declining as a state budget priority in recent years. Over the past 20 years, Education's share of the General Fund Budget has fallen from an average of 43.5 percent to just 36.9 percent in the current budget cycle - and yes - the Education component among the six consistent categories of General Fund spending (Education, Postsecondary Education, Medicaid, Criminal Justice, Human Service and 'other) includes TRS. While TRS spending has increased significantly, K-12 spending has decreased significantly as a budget priority. Since FY 2008, the state's General Fund budget has increased by 50.2 percent but the SEEK budget only increased by 19.7 percent. This reflects Education's decrease in priority compared to the other major categories of spending, and what category has increased the most in priority? - the 'Other' category which includes subsidies to business, infrastructure and catch-up payment to the state employee pension fund.