Two separate proposals for the state’s next biennial budget have been unveiled – one by the House Republican leadership and one by Gov. Andy Beshear. Each budget proposal contains increased public education funding – but the plans are different.

House leaders unveiled their budget on Jan. 7, nearly a week before the governor’s budget address which will be at 7 p.m. ET Thursday aired on KET and KET.org/legislature.

The House Republicans’ budget plan, House Bill 1, includes:

The proposal also contains a provision that would limit districts’ spending on administration. If a district were to spend more in 2023 than the percentage of its budget spent on administration in 2020, the bill states the legislature would reduce the district’s transportation reimbursement in the next budget.

Ahead of his Thursday night budget address, Beshear held a news conference Monday to detail his plans to increase education spending.

Beshear’s budget proposal includes:

Beshear stated that House Republicans crafted their budget without consulting the executive branch. In addition to the funding amount differences for SEEK, transportation and pre-K, Beshear also noted that his budget proposal includes funding for social-emotional learning, assisting turnaround schools, career and technical education and early literacy.

KSBA’s Director of Advocacy Eric Kennedy said both proposals would bring needed funding to Kentucky public schools.

“It is very encouraging that both the House Republican proposal and the governor’s proposal increase the investment in public education in several areas that KSBA has listed as our priorities in our legislative agenda,” he said. “However, the budget process still has a long way to go before the final bill is passed.”

Students or staff who are exposed to COVID-19 at schools that require masks no longer have to quarantine and the schools do not have to contact trace under new guidance for in-person learning issued Monday by the Kentucky Department for Public Health.

Schools where universal masking is not required should continue to contact trace and quarantine exposed students and staff who are not vaccinated or up-to-date on their vaccines, the department said.

“Schools can remain safely open for in-person instruction while minimizing disruptions to the learning environment when they implement layered prevention strategies,” Dr. Steven Stack, public health commissioner, said Monday during Gov. Beshear’s COVID-19 news conference.

Stack urged schools to require universal masking and for sick students and teachers to stay home. Schools that do not require masks are likely to see the Omicron variant spread rapidly, he said.

The DPH revised the guidance after the Centers for Disease Control issued new guidance for schools last week.

Under the department’s guidance, unvaccinated students and staff and those who have not had a booster shot and are exposed outside of school, but are in schools with universal masking, can remain in school if they participate in the “test to stay” program.

“We are all eager for this pandemic to end and until it does, we will all fair better if we pull together,” Stack said.

As of Wednesday, at least seven school districts had been forced to pause in-person learning due to the staffing shortages and student illness from the virus. Jefferson County, the state’s largest district, is using NTI days from Tuesday to Friday this week. Superintendent Marty Pollio said the district would determine on Monday whether it could return next week.

In northern Kentucky, Newport Ind., Covington Ind. and Bellevue Ind. are also using NTI days. Newport and Covington plan to return to in-person learning Jan. 17 and Bellevue plans to return Jan. 24. Gallatin County is not using NTI but is closed for the rest of this week. Boyd County and Adair County are also using NTI days for the rest of this week.

On Tuesday, the Senate passed Senate Bill 25 which would give each school in a district 10 remote learning days which could be used for a grade, classroom or school. The bill also makes it easier for retired teachers to return to the classroom in order to help with staffing shortages.

Attendee registration for KSBA’s 2022 Annual Conference (Feb. 25-27 in Louisville) is now open. Visit the conference page of KSBA’s website to begin online registration, review a complete conference schedule and to access limited-time conference hotel rates. Districts also have the option of viewing/printing a hard-copy schedule and registration form.

KSBA will once again display beautiful banner artwork depicting the conference theme, “Connect the dots.” We invite districts to submit student-designed banners for display in conference materials and in the banner gallery area. The banners are an important reminder to attendees of schools’ primary focus – learning and learners. KSBA will once again collect banner art electronically. View banner instructions and specifications. The banner artwork deadline has been extended until Feb. 14.

The Senate has passed Senate Bill 1, which would make changes to school-based decision making councils operate.

The bill, filed by Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, would give superintendents the authority to choose principals and curriculum after consultation with the councils.

Under the bill, SBDMs would set school policies that are consistent with school board policy and the goals the board has established for the district.

When determining curriculum, the superintendent would consult with the SBDM and solicit response from stakeholders.

Reforming the councils has been a KSBA priority for several years and a similar bill has passed the Senate before. SB1 will now go to the House, where it would first be heard by the House Education Committee.

The House Education Committee typically meets at 8 a.m. ET on Tuesdays. The Senate Education Committee typically meets at 11:30 a.m. ET on Thursdays. The meetings are broadcast live at www.ket.org/legislature and on the KET Legislative Coverage app.

KSBA is currently requesting proposals for our 2022 Learn and Earn webinar series. If you have an informative topic that is relevant to board members and district leaders, consider submitting a proposal for one of our one-hour webinars to be offered each month from March – November 2022. Submit a short proposal form online and view additional details on KSBA’s Learn and Earn webpage. The deadline to submit proposals is Feb. 4.

Convenient, self-study school safety training is now available to Kentucky’s school board members and their districts thanks to the SafetyInSchools.com Threat Preparedness Program. SafetyInSchools has partnered with boards and districts across the country to deliver safety training specifically addressing the threats to and vulnerabilities of schools.

Current topics available for credit include:

View/download the training information and registration form. Upon completion of this online training, KSBA will be alerted and board training credit will be awarded automatically. Board members who complete both modules are eligible to earn four hours of Level IV/V elective credit in the Academy of Studies. EILA credit has been approved for these courses.

Most of the Kentucky school districts impacted by the devastating tornadoes in western and south central Kentucky have now welcomed students back to the classroom.

Hopkins County and Graves County students returned to school Jan. 3. Muhlenberg County and Marshall County returned on Jan. 4.

Students at Mayfield Ind., one of the hardest hit communities, returned to school on Monday – one month after a tornado destroyed much of the town.

“This is a special community, and we have a lot of tough people here,” Mayfield High School Principal Billy Edwards told WPSD-TV. “I think our kids want some normalcy back in their routine. They want to come back. They want to see their friends, and they want to get back to learning.”

On Monday, students at Christian County’s Pembroke Elementary also returned to the classroom for first time since the tornado damaged the front hallway of the school.

“We are thankful that our students weren’t in the building at the time,” Principal Dana Gary said on WHOP-Radio. “We’re thankful that it wasn’t any worse and we are back in school and getting back to normal.”

Dawson Springs Ind. is planning to resume classes on Jan. 18.

The legislature is advancing bills that would provide $30 million for the districts impacted by the storms. The money could be used for wrap around services, mental health counseling, tutoring, for transporting students from temporary housing back to the district and construction and repair of buildings.

The bill, House Bill 5, has passed the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee and will now go to the full House. It’s companion bill, Senate Bill 5, passed the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee on Wednesday, will now go to the full Senate.

January is School Board Recognition Month, making it the perfect time to express gratitude to the locally elected men and women charged with governance of your district. Access KSBA’s School Board Recognition Month toolkit, complete with easy-to-use resources and templates: social media graphics, press release samples, certificates, ideas for activities, etc. When honoring your board members online, use the hashtag #LoveKySchoolBoards. KSBA will share/retweet our favorites all month long!

The Kentucky Organization of Superintendents’ Administrative Assistants (KOSAA) 16th Annual Winter Meeting is Friday, Feb. 25 at the Louisville Marriott Downtown, coinciding with KSBA’s Annual Conference. Visit the KOSAA webpage to view additional details or click here to begin easy online registration. This year's theme is "Lights, Camera, Action!" Attendees will learn about KSBA services, network with fellow KOSAA members, receive a tutorial on the new eMeeting portal and learn valuable tips for meeting agendas and minutes.

The 2022 Spring Meeting of the Kentucky Council of School Board Attorneys (CSBA) will also meet during the KSBA Annual Conference. CSBA will gather from noon until 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25 and from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26. This year’s meeting will take place at the Louisville Marriott Downtown. Visit the CSBA webpage to view additional details or click here to begin easy online registration. This year's training topics include:

Read more in KDE's press release.

When deadly tornadoes struck western and south central Kentucky, schools in the area became the epicenter of the response, while schools outside the area became beacons of hope providing needed donations. Read more about how school personnel helped communities and each other in the January issue of the Kentucky School Advocate.

Also in this month's Advocate:

This edition of KSBA Aware is made possible in part