2016 Interim LEGISLATIVE Volume 29, No. 7 November 2016 * Read online at www.lrc.ky.gov/legislation.htm RECORD City street Charter schools funding issue discussed by legislative panel by Jim Hannah rolls before LRC Public Information The Interim Joint Committee on Educa- committee tion’s last meeting of the year was dominated by a discussion on charter schools – publicly fund- by Rebecca Hanchett ed independent schools established under the LRC Public Information terms of a charter with a local or state authority. An educator from Louisiana testified on Cities want more state road aid, accord- Nov. 14 on how New Orleans used charter ing to testimony given to state lawmakers schools to transform the city’s school system af- last month, and local officials say they have ter Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in Au- a plan to get it that won’t hurt counties. But gust 2005. not all lawmakers seemed convinced, with “In the context of New Orleans, we feel like some requesting more information about we have had some successes,” said Dana Peter- the proposal. son, deputy superintendent of external affairs The Kentucky League of Cities’ plan for the New Orleans Recovery School District, would set an $825 million cap on state road a special statewide school district administered funds distributed through a state 1948 reve- by the Louisiana Department of Education. “We Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, asks a question during nue-sharing formula called the “Fifths For- certainly had a long way to go when we start- the Nov. 14 meeting of the Interim Joint Committee mula”—the formula on which distribution ed. We still have a long way to go before we can on Education. of county road aid and rural secondary road claim ultimate success.” than traditional public schools. “In many cas- funding is based. Revenue-sharing dollars The school district utilizes charter schools es, traditional schools do not always receive the allocated to local governments above that to promote change, Peterson said. He added that same repercussions for consistently underper- cap under the proposal would be split be- the district doesn’t manage schools directly. He forming,” Peterson said, adding that in certain tween cities and unincorporated areas based said it authorizes charter schools and then holds areas of his state traditional public schools un- on population and road miles, KLC officials them accountable. derperform year after year. told the Interim Joint Committee on Local Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Paducah, asked what Rep. Hubert Collins, D-Wittensville, asked Government on Oct. 26. those accountability standards were. if teachers are required to be certified in the Rep. Jim DuPlessis, R-Elizabethtown, “Our schools are held to the same account- charter schools. told KLC he has been told that Kentucky’s ability standards that traditional public schools “Charter schools do have the latitude to counties don’t agree with the proposal. He are in our state,” Peterson said. “Our state almost hire noncertified teachers but teachers have to also said setting a cap could be a problem 20 years ago enacted an accountability system work towards those certifications,” Peterson said. several years down the road. that was designed to hold schools accountable “Many of our schools work with organizations “I think that cap, if there is some cap, for the performance of students. Our charter that provide an alternative pathway to teacher needs to also have an inflationary increase schools are held to that same standard.” certification.” as well—That’s the kind of thing I think the He said that in many instances charter Co-chair Rep. Derrick Graham, D-Frank- Continued on page 2 schools in Louisiana are held more accountable Continued on page 2 THE KENTUCKY GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1 Charter schools, from page 1 partisan group, will give a nationwide perspec- “Our schools are held fort, asked what successes had been achieved. tive on where charter schools stand. Several Peterson said over a 10-year period the percent researchers on the topic will also present their to the same of students performing at grade level in reading findings. accountability and math was raised to 59 percent from 23 per- “I thought it was important that our board cent. really have a deep grounding of what it means to standards that “That is a recognition of tremendous prog- have charter schools,” Pruitt said. traditional public ress,” Peterson said, adding that there is still a lot When Rep. Jim DeCesare, R-Bowling of work to be done. “No one would claim success Green, asked if the public would be allowed to schools are in our with roughly four out of 10 of our students not speak at the special meeting, Pruitt said there state.” being on grade level.” would be another meeting in December for pub- Kentucky Education Commissioner Ste- lic comment. Dana Peterson phen Pruitt testified that the Kentucky Board of “We need to make sure we have open and Deputy Superintendent of Education will hold a special board meeting on frank discussions about this from both sides of External Affairs, New Orleans Nov. 28 to discuss allowing charter schools in the issue,” DeCesare said. “I would encourage Recovery School District Kentucky. you and the board to have those discussions as He said a representative of the Education well and open those meetings up to allow people Commission of the States, a Denver-based non- to come and speak.” Cities, from page 1 would still go to counties and 35.8 percent would go to cities, instead of (the current) 18 percent. county judge-executives and KACo (Kentucky So no, we’re not here asking the General Assem- Association of Counties) would probably be bly to give us 100 percent of funds—but there’s interested in working with together,” DuPlessis no set percentage at all.” said. KLC President and Sadieville Mayor Claude Committee Co-Chair Rep. Steve Riggs, Christensen said Kentucky cities spend around D-Louisville, said the committee needs a simplis- $250 million a year on construction and main- tic, written definition of the Fifths Formula and tenance of city streets, yet receive less than $60 other pertinent information from KLC, which million in state road aid. Those funds are pro- KLC Deputy Executive Director J.D. Chaney said vided through the state municipal road aid pro- will be provided to the panel. “We will include all gram, founded in the 1970s, which is based on that: the legislative agenda, the formula of Fifths, population and not the Fifths Formula. the way it works with the new proposal… we’ll Christensen said his city of Sadieville had to get all that together,” he said. use around 13 percent of its general fund dollars The proposed $825 million cap would be to cover street work last fiscal year. The city had a based on 2014 state gas tax receipts that Chaney total budget of $287,000 yet only received $5,837 called the “very highest level ever” of gas tax re- in municipal road aid from the state to cover ceipts figured into the formula. Setting the cap $41,730 in street repairs. at that level, he said, would hold counties “harm- “Some years, in fact most years, we just can’t less,” or essentially allow them to continue re- afford to do any street work. We have to wait un- ceiving the funding they already enjoy. Previous til it’s really bad and we have no choice,” he said. KLC road fund proposals had considered taking At the same time, he said Kentucky counties some of revenue sharing dollars away from the have received more road aid than they needed in counties and reallocating it to cities, he remind- recent funding cycles. ed lawmakers. “We’re not interested in harming the coun- Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thay- ties. We’re just interested in having enough to er, R-Georgetown, asked what percentage of city do what we need to do in the cities,” said Chris- road budgets KLC hopes to fund with state road tensen. dollars. Chaney said there is no set percentage The road fund proposal is KLC’s top legis- proposed—only a system that he said would lative priority for the 2017 session of the Gen- hopefully, in time, be “more fair” to cities. eral Assembly, with pensions, tax options, drug Rep. Jim DuPlessis, R-Elizabethtown, asks questions “It still favors counties,” he said. “64.2 per- abuse concerns, prevailing wage and unfunded during the Oct. 26 meeting of the Interim Joint cent of that new money above $825 million mandates rounding out the list. Committee on Local Government. 2 2016 Interim LEGISLATIVE RECORD Public defenders seek help Let some by Rebecca Hanchett LRC Public Information prisoners drive, Kentucky’s public defenders are “workhors- es” who need better pay, and more help, to rep- lawmakers resent the hundreds of thousands of indigent cli- ents assigned to them each year, a state legislative panel heard this month. are asked Funding was proposed by Governor Matt by Jim Hannah Bevin during the 2016 legislative session that LRC Public Information would have funded salaries for 44 additional public defenders, Kentucky Department of Pub- A limited number of federal prisoners lic Advocacy chief Ed Monahan told the Inter- could be behind the wheel on Kentucky’s im Joint Committee on Judiciary on Nov. 4, but roadways if the General Assembly makes a that funding was “unfortunately” not in the final change in state law suggested by the U.S. Fed- budget, he said. eral Bureau of Prisons. “It would have allowed us to have a higher return on investment had we gotten the funding “Today’s request would allow a small because cases would have been resolved sooner.