As the Kentucky General Assembly reconvenes this week and settles into what should be an active biennium budget session, public school officials in south western Kentucky know many priorities are at stake as the Commonwealth’s coffers get crafted.
Trigg County Schools Superintendent Dr. Rex Booth said Monday that it’s “easy to go after funding first,” regardless of data points, but that he hoped legislators started with looking at some shortfalls in the current SEEK formula.
Like many administrators in the Commonwealth, Dr. Booth said he, too, would like to see some changes come to the unpopular telecommunications law, Senate Bill 181, which has brought more difficulties than decisions.
Compliance concerns, he added, were partially addressed with the “Red Tape Reduction Act” — which helped limit a number of former paperwork duties with new and veteran educators and administrators — but the school’s law book has “doubled in size over the last 10 years,” and with that brings required staffing to mitigate and manage expectations, issues and regulations.
Specifically, the “Red Tape Reduction Act” streamlined a number of concerns and processes, including:
+ The creation of a four-year recurring professional development training schedule, that requires all certified school employees to complete specific training within 12 months of hire and at least once every four years.
+ The provision of teacher access to their employment contracts upon request.
+ The elimination of mandates for comprehensive school improvement plans that aren’t required by federal law.
+ And the review and elimination of reporting requirements not expressly mandated by state and/or federal law.
Multiple reports indicate the legislation was designed to allow educators the opportunity to further focus on quality inside-the-classroom instruction, allowing for a better experience for students and teachers, in general.
