Photo courtesy of the River City News

One less school district

The school boards of Silver Grove Independent and Campbell County have voted to become one school district. On Monday, the Campbell County school board voted unanimously to accept Silver Grove’s proposal to merge its 211-student independent district with the 4,793-student county district.

Campbell County Superintendent David Rust said his district also agreed to interview Silver Grove’s tenured staff for appropriate vacancies and to make applications from non-tenured and classified Silver Grove staff available to its SBDM councils for consideration.

Silver Grove’s board previously voted 4-1 to explore the merger and voted 3-2 to approve a merger agreement, said Silver Grove board attorney Zach Lotspeich.

That agreement did not include the provisions for Campbell County to interview Silver Grove’s employees. Because the agreement has been altered, it must now go back to the Silver Grove board for approval. The board’s next scheduled meeting is March 18.

Both the initial and the amended agreements call for the Campbell County school board to remain unchanged. Four of the five Silver Grove board members have already agreed to relinquish their seats. Silver Grove board member Melanie Pelle has said she will not resign, asserting that state law allows her to hold her seat until her term ends in 2020.

The other four Silver Grove board members were elected in November on a joint platform of merging with Campbell County.

KBE asks for CTE task force, approves standards, accountability changes

At its Feb. 6 meeting, the Kentucky Board of Education passed resolution asking the Kentucky General Assembly to form a task force to examine career and technical education funding ahead of the 2020 budget session.

Commissioner Wayne Lewis (pictured) explained that since 2001 there has been no funding for new locally operated area technology centers. However, the state’s budget gives the commissioner the authority to approve requests to fund new centers but does not include the funding. If the commissioner approved new centers, the Department of Education would have to reallocate the existing money, resulting in less funding for programs already in operation, he said.

The schools that have requested funds include, Hardin County, Hopkins County, Laurel County, Oldham County, Owensboro Independent, Spencer County and Boone and Kenton counties’ new Ignite Institute.

See the presentation and watch the video.

During the meeting, KBE also approved changes to the state’s accountability system including the elimination of opportunity and access, changes to the accountability weights and simplifying how gap closure will be measured. The accountability system changes are detailed in this Advocate story.

The board also approved new academic standards for social studies. The vote on the standards came after revisions to the new standards prompted by concerns from teachers and other education groups.

The standards will be open for public comment until March 31. Comments can be sent to [email protected] . 

The next KBE meeting will be held April 10 at the Kentucky Educational Development Corporation in Ashland. 

Franklin County teacher wins $25,000 national award

Peaks Mill Elementary teacher Angie Beavin got the surprise of her career last week when she was won a Milken Educator Award – an award that comes with $25,000.

Beavin, who teaches fifth grade, is among 33 educators nationwide to receive the award, often called the “Oscars of Teaching,” this year and the only one in Kentucky.

On Feb. 11, with the student body of the Franklin County school assembled in the gym and in front of Gov. Matt Bevin, Milken Family Foundation Chairman Lowell Milken surprised Beavin with the award. ( Video of the surprise)

After the initial shock, Beavin said she suspected her principal Dana Blankenship had something to do with the recognition.

“She’s believed in me, pushed me and I feel like she’s behind this in some way,” she said.

The foundation said Beavin, who has been teaching at Peaks Mill for 11 years, builds a love of reading and an inquiry-based approach into every lesson, which serves to promote independent thinking and learning. A National Board-Certified educator, Beavin also relies heavily on data to help struggling students and challenge high achievers.

“I love these kids, they need me and I need them, I just love them,” said Beavin, who added that she plans to spend some of the money on her class.

“I’m thrilled that we are honoring educators who truly deserve the recognition,” said Mark Kopp, Franklin County superintendent. “It’s sometimes hard to really give the time needed to show how much we appreciate all of our teachers.”

Read more about the award, including reaction from Franklin County school board members, in the April Kentucky School Advocate. 

KDE seeks feedback on new school report card

The Kentucky Department of Education is seeking feedback from school board members, parents and educators on the new 2017-18 Kentucky School Report Card which was released January.

BrightBytes, the company KDE contracted with to develop the report card, is leading the effort to collect the feedback. To provide feedback, respond to this survey using the SRC Feedback tool or sign up to provide more in-depth feedback. 

There are two options for in-depth feedback: 

BrightBytes seeks participants who are not already very familiar with the new School Report Card. Opportunities to participate are limited, but KDE hopes to have a broad representation. The initial round of feedback will be collected through March 1. 

David Webster will complete his two-year term as KSBA president and “pass the gavel” at this Saturday’s Annual Conference business session. On behalf of KSBA staff, board of directors and our members, we thank David for always “aspiring to inspire” us with his service and dedication. Under his leadership, KSBA has continued to thrive as the Commonwealth’s leading advocate and resource for public school boards. We look forward to David’s continued work on the KSBA board of directors.

David has been a school board member with the Simpson County Board of Education since 2007. He began his service as a KSBA director-at-large in 2011 and was elected president-elect in 2015. 

Charter authorizer required topics and hours

School board members, in their capacity as charter school authorizers, are required to earn a minimum number of training hours each year. This requirement is codified in 701 KAR 8:020 and is separate from the mandated training board members obtain under

KRS 160.180. The Kentucky Department of Education mandates that school board members must complete training as charter authorizers. Charter authorizer training includes 12 hours that must satisfy the topics listed below. Please note that these hours and their corresponding topics are to be completed by Dec. 31, 2019.

Charter authorizer state mandated topics include: Financial governance and transparency; Conflict of interest; Charter application; Charter school contracting; Charter school monitoring; Charter school renewal, non-renewal, and revocation; Charter school closure; Ethics; Curriculum and instruction; Educational service provided for special needs, at risk, English learner, gifted, and other special population students; and Physical restraint and seclusion of students.

For Annual Conference attendees: Please note that many of the sessions offered at Annual Conference (Feb. 22-24) will satisfy several of the mandated charter authorizer topics. Refer to you conference program to track the credits earned for each session. 

(Photo courtesy of McCracken County Schools)

Strawberry Hills Pharmacy purchased the naming rights to McCracken County High School's gymnasium. The 10-year contract was for $200,000. The district has received about $1.3 million for naming rights since the new consolidated high school opened in 2013.

Finding Funding



There's never enough money for everything schools and districts want to provide for their students and teachers. And as budgets become tighter, many Kentucky public school districts are looking for creative revenue strategies.

 

The February edition of the Kentucky School Advocate, looks at two of those strategies -- education foundations and selling naming rights . As part of the "Finding Funding" package, we also discuss how tax flexibility for school boards would strengthen local decision making.

KSBA is gearing up for its annual LEAD event this Thursday, Feb. 21 at the capitol. We hope to see many of our members as they connect with their legislators to discuss KSBA priorities and the future of public education in Kentucky. Please tag in your social media posts from the Capitol so that we can share! Before you go, catch up on current bills and news in last week’s legislative update. 

More calendar items

National FFA Week Feb. 16-23

KSBA's 83rd Annual Conference Feb. 22-24, Louisville

KOSAA Winter Meeting Feb 22, Louisville

Read Across America Day, March 1

School Social Work Week, March 3-9

National Foreign Language Week, March 3-9

2019 Kentucky General Assembly adjourns

2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the landmark  Rose v. Council decision, paving the way for education improvement in Kentucky and the nation. Throughout the year we will join our partners to remember that mandate and honor our shared mission. Check out KSBA’s Facebook and Twitter pages as we regularly share language from the court decision using the hashtag #RoseAT30.

This edition of KSBA Aware is made possible in part

by the following KSBA Affiliate Members.