Community collaboration stretches preschool dollars

This week, Chief of Staff Tommy Floyd, who represents the Kentucky Department of Education on the Governor’s Early Childhood Advisory Council, is my guest blogger. The topic is preschool and how to serve more children who could benefit from a quality early learning experience with the limited funding available.

Terry Holliday, Ph.D.

Education Commissioner

In the coming weeks, the Kentucky Department of Education will be releasing results from the Kindergarten readiness screen of students beginning school this year. Superintendents know how important this data is to students and their future. Children who start behind in school may stay behind. Yet, high quality preschool can make a difference.

We are fortunate this year that Gov. Steve Beshear and the state legislature provided districts with additional funding for preschool. That additional funding, however, came with an expansion of eligibility guidelines, which means many districts also saw their preschool enrollment increase this fall.

With limited resources, many superintendents are asking: How can I stretch my state preschool funding so that more students will be ready when they start school?”

Terry Tolan, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood, and Rick Hulefeld, founder and executive director of Children, Inc. in northern Kentucky, recently shared with me a model that some districts are using that has allowed them to serve more preschoolers – for less – through collaboration with community programs like Head Start and STARS-rated early childhood centers.

Here’s one example: a private early childhood center in a district serves 18 children in the 4-year-old classroom, 12 of the children are from families whose income is at or below 160 percent of the federal poverty line. The school system places a half-time early childhood teacher in the center, and the early childhood center provides the half-time assistant. The school district would be reimbursed for the 12 children. The early learning center would still receive its usual child care reimbursement and parent co-pay.

How does this stretch the district’s preschool dollars? The district is not paying for a half- day teacher assistant. The district is not retrofitting and/or equipping another classroom or paying for janitor and/or utilities. It also may result in reduced transportation costs because parents may drop off and/or pick up their child before and after work. Most importantly, the school district has ensured that 18 children will be ready for kindergarten not just 12.

This model also offers many more benefits:  

•  The child spends more time in the classroom, less time being
    transported.
•  There is greater alignment between the two halves of the day.
•  The child is in a full-day, full-year program that hopefully is more
    effective with the presence of the school district’s teacher.
•  The teacher has more contact with the family through the assistant
    teacher. 
•  The transitions between home, school and child care seamless –
    a big support for working families.
•  The early learning center, which is typically open more than 10 hours a
    day benefits by reducing its staffing costs.
•  Other forms of sharing between the school and care provider may result,
    for example, around training.

It is important to note that many of the benefits listed still occur if the partnership takes place in the district’s classrooms with the district providing the half-day teacher and the early childhood organization providing the assistant and the wrap-around care.

Using a mixed model for delivering preschool will result in districts serving more children at reduced cost and, even more importantly, improve outcomes for children in the district.

As superintendents begin developing their 2015-16 budgets, I encourage them to consider this model and begin identifying potential early childhood partners in their community that may be willing to join with schools in an effort to ensure more students are ready for learning on their first day of school.

United We Stand, Divided We Fail

The words United We Stand, Divided We Fall are emblazoned on the Kentucky state seal, displayed on the state flag and in 1942 were adopted as the Commonwealth’s motto. While biblical in origin, this simple, yet inspiring phrase first appeared in modern times in the revolutionary war ballad The Liberty Song. Nearly 250 years later, with respect to John Dickinson, I’d like to adapt his lyric for our use – United We Stand for Education, Divided We Fail Our Children. This axiom sums up the coalescence we have realized in P-12 education in the Commonwealth in recent months.

In September 2013, the Kentucky Department of Education convened all state superintendents in Frankfort to discuss key education issues. At the top of the agenda was the development of key priorities for the FY15-16 state budget. Superintendents supported restoration of SEEK funds, Flex Focus funds, and funds for increased bandwidth and technology devices. The top three priorities were endorsed by the Kentucky Board of Education.  Meanwhile, numerous education groups came together as the Kentucky Education Action Team. 

Today, we see the fruition of those efforts in the state budget adopted by the General Assembly earlier this week. A few of the highlights reflect what can happen when educators stand together. Never before have we seen the level of cohesive commitment from all education, business, parent groups and even students for restoring funding to SEEK, Flex Focus and technology. 

As a result of our united voice:
•  Educators will see a pay raise of 1 percent in 2015 and 2 percent in
    2016 (the first pay raise in six years).
•  Educators will see an increase in extended school services to help
    provide additional time and support for children who are not
    achieving at the expected levels. 
•  Educators will see restoration of professional dollars to help
    implement more rigorous standards and teacher/principal
    effectiveness systems. 
•  Educators will see increases in funds to ensure our schools are safe
    for teachers and children. 
•  For the first time in the last six years, educators will have funding
    to purchase textbooks and instructional resources. 

In our biennial TELL Kentucky Working Conditions Survey, teachers told us there was a critical need for more bandwidth and additional technology devices. This budget will provide additional resources to support those needs. 

In total, K-12 education received a $141 million increase in FY2015 and a $228 million increase in FY2016 over FY2014 funding levels. With our unified voice, we were able to gain additional funds for education during a time that the state was not gaining any significant revenue enhancements. This is strong evidence that when our adapted motto – United We Stand for Education – actually happens, great things can happen.

Educators should take time to thank members of the General Assembly for their efforts in making K-12 education a top priority in the state budget. Additionally, educators should thank Governor Beshear and his staff for their tireless efforts in promoting restoration of funds for education.

As we move forward in the 2014-15 school year, I strongly encourage educators to remain united. 

There will be efforts to divide us based on the anti-Kentucky Core Academic Standards group. There will be push back on the implementation of the Professional Growth and Effectiveness System. There will be debate as the Kentucky Board of Education begins to review and modify the Unbridled Learning Accountability System. 

It is critical that we continue to work together and united to help more students reach college and career readiness. We may not agree on every detail, however, we know that a united front is much more successful than one that is divided. 

United We Stand for Education, Divided We Fail Our Children.

Putting superintendent feedback to use

It’s been about six months since Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) leadership and I met with all Kentucky school district superintendents in Frankfort for a face-to-face Superintendents’ Summit. This provided an opportunity for me to explain the why, what and how of the P-12 components of the Unbridled Learning: College and Career Readiness for All system. In addition, superintendents heard presentations on key topics and had the opportunity through roundtable discussions to share feedback on the issues. This detailed feedback was compiled into a document that included responses from KDE staff to each comment/question submitted by superintendents. 

Since the summit, Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) staff has studied and integrated this feedback into our work in an effort to be responsive to the needs of school districts. The feedback has been extremely valuable and KDE is appreciative of superintendents’ willingness to share it with us.

Below is an update on the many ways the superintendent feedback has had a positive impact on KDE’s work.

Assessment and Accountability
• Accountability Model – KDE will do a three-year review of the components of the accountability system looking for areas for continuation and adjustments. By allowing three years of data to be part of the review, it will provide a more consistent look at the scores. 

• State Tests – KDE issued a Request for Information (RFI) in November 2013 to begin exploring assessments to help with the issuing of a Response for Proposals (RFP) to replace the EXPLORE/PLAN tests at a minimum since the vendor is discontinuing them, but also possibly the high school end-of-course tests. KDE continues working with ACT to improve their current high school model and ACT has indicated that the turnaround times for paper tests this spring will be significantly shorter. 

• Growth – Both at the summit and later, superintendents focused attention on the growth model. Due to this concern, the Growth Component will be one of the main components we will be taking a look at during review of the accountability model. The review will look at purpose, use and weights of the growth component. 

• Program Reviews – KDE is launching major activities to help improve the Program Review model. Those activities include strengthening of the audit process, conducting research to determine the value and importance of Program Reviews, improving the scoring process, and reviewing and analyzing data to help inform future changes. 

Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (PGES)
• Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) took up the first reading of the new regulation earlier this month. It comes back for a second reading and approval on April 9. In the interim, KDE is analyzing and considering all feedback on the regulation. Additionally, the KBE is holding a study session on the student growth component of the PGES model on April 8 prior to its board meeting.
• KDE has distributed the Model Certified Evaluation Plan (CEP).
• Regional trainings are taking place this month and next for district leadership teams to delve into the Model CEP.
• Educational cooperatives have been involved in this work and have been encouraged to share models of solid implementation from the statewide pilot of the system during their meetings.
• A closer look at time and funding to implement PGES is a part of the research agenda throughout the pilot.
• The Area Technology Centers/Career and Technical Education (ATC/CTE) pilot of PGES is currently underway and will expand during the upcoming academic school year.
• A subcommittee of the Steering Committee that has been guiding this work agreed on rubrics for “other professionals” in January. A pilot for the “other professionals” system will take place during the 2014-15 school year.
• Ongoing conversations between KDE and the Kentucky Education Association (KEA) have occurred to ensure local presidents are sharing a consistent message around the expectations for PGES.

Teacher PGES
• PGES consultants are providing greater support for all four domains.
• The Kentucky Teacher Internship Program (KTIP) and PGES will be merged. A pilot will be conducted in the 2014-15 academic school year with full implementation in 2015-16. 
• The summative model for the teacher PGES has been shared publicly and with the KBE. 
• Videos from teachers, principals, and superintendents will be shared in the coming weeks to provide information about the use of student growth in the system.

Principal PGES
• Questions about assistant principals and their role in the principal PGES have been addressed through PGES webcasts and newsletters.
• Great collaboration has occurred with the Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) to ensure principal preparation programs are sharing the principal PGES as a part of the expectations for demonstrating effectiveness.
• Regional VAL-ED training has assisted with understanding of the tool.
• TELL Kentucky survey data is used as a source of evidence for the creation of principal goals but focuses primarily on working conditions and the goal for continuous improvement.
• A greater partnership with the Kentucky Leadership Academy (KLA) has been formed to support the principal PGES and teacher PGES.

Additional Curricular Information
• Science leadership networks are underway across the regions. Teachers have been participating and involved in conversations about the standards and updating local curricula.
• Regional social studies leadership networks are meeting so teachers may examine the C3 Social Studies Framework and develop new standards for future implementation. The social studies standards will not be introduced until late in the fall of 2014 at the earliest
• World Language Program Reviews will be piloted in 2014-15 in order to continue to build innovative models for language and cultural programs. 

Budget
• Based on the comments during the Superintendent’s Summit, KDE submitted a budget proposal to the Governor in November 2013 supporting the three priorities as agreed on by superintendents. These were restoration of funding for SEEK, Flexible Focus (textbooks, professional development, Extended School Services, school safety) and Technology. 
• The Governor’s budget proposal supports all of these areas in some fashion and KDE continues to advocate for restoration of K-12 funding as the legislative session moves forward.

Flexibility of Federal Funds
• KDE will issue a white paper in March to assist districts in using federal funds effectively.

Career and Technical Education
• In response to requests to expand the career readiness measures, the Office of Career and Technical Education (OCTE) has developed an electronic form by which schools and districts can submit industry certifications for consideration. The form can be found on the KDE website at this link.
• In collaboration with the Office of Next-Generation Learners, OCTE has created workgroups to develop career pathways for the arts. Seven pathways and end-of-program assessments will be developed for students interested in the arts. Schools and districts will be able to implement the pathways during the 2014-15 school year.

Sharing Best Practices
• A “Best Practices” webpage now exists where districts can both submit best practices that have worked for them as well as access ideas from across the state.  The webpage is currently undergoing a redesign to make it easier for users to submit and find best practices.

Technology
• KDE continues to assist district and school staff with any issues regarding roles and levels in the Continuous Instructional Improvement Technology System (CIITS) through monthly webcasts as well as through the CIITS Help Desk.
• KDE has been working with the SchoolNet development team on an issue with the Educator Development Suite (EDS) recognizing only the teacher of record. The solution will make it possible for all certified staff to have access to self-reflection, student growth goal setting, professional growth plans, and student voice results that are a part of PGES. We are hopeful this will occur within the next three months.

Finally, plans are underway to schedule a second Superintendents’ Summit in September of this year. The main topic for the summit would be reviewing the existing accountability model and making recommendations for possible changes in the model to the Kentucky Board of Education.  After seeing the impact they can have, we hope all superintendents will once again take part.

Perfect Storm Slowing Down

This week, we had some potentially good news from Washington D.C.  Sen. Murray and Rep. Ryan announced a budget deal that hopefully would delay, or at least minimize, the impact of federal sequestration on schools across the nation. Federal sequestration is one part of the perfect storm that’s brewing for Kentucky education that I have been describing in recent blogs.

Sequestration would impact Kentucky schools through a $58 million cut to programs like Title I, Title II, IDEA and others. These programs serve our most at-risk children. The cuts would lead directly to the loss of teachers and teaching support positions -- more than 1,300 positions in Kentucky could be cut.

So far, there is at least a possibility that we might avoid this. The House of Representatives voted 332-94 to send the budget deal (H.J. Res. 59) to the Senate for consideration. Once Congress passes the budget resolution, as is expected, there are still several steps that have to happen. The budget moves to the House and Senate appropriations committees where there will be substantial discussion about how to divvy up the funds among federal agencies and programs and how much each should receive. Bottom line – there are many potential pitfalls ahead before the federal budget deal results in an actual allocation of funds to school districts.

The other two parts of the perfect storm – the Kentucky School Boards Insurance Trust (KSBIT) fund settlement and the state budget continue to develop. During our superintendent’s monthly webinar today (December 13), Commissioner of Insurance Sharon Clark provided the latest progress on the school boards insurance trust.

If everything remains on track, it appears we are moving toward resolution of two components of the perfect storm – KSBIT and federal sequestration.

Our remaining challenge is the state budget. Many news articles across the Commonwealth are quoting legislators concerning state revenues and spending plans for the next two years. Most of the news is not positive for advocates of education funding. I hope readers will pay close attention to the local and state discussions. If you need additional information about the state budget and the loss of education funding since 2008, as well as the growing inequity of our state education budget for local districts, please check out this presentation that I made to Kentucky Association of School Superintendents on December 8.

Budget cuts impacting our children's future

Last week I told you about naming this year’s Next-Generation Student Council, a group that I started a few years ago. This group represents students across Kentucky. I meet with them in person or virtually three or four times a year. The group is always energetic and they have tremendous ideas on how to improve public education. 

We had our initial meeting for 2013-14 this week and we discussed a multitude of issues. One issue that I asked students to respond to was concerning budget cuts. I asked students if they had observed the impact of state education budget cuts in their school or district. Here are some of their responses.

• "The fees for my science club went up from $30 to $90 this year
   since the school and district were no longer able to support the
   club due to state budget cuts."

• "I have a cousin who is a special education student who lost his
   teacher assistant this year due to budget cuts. My cousin is
   having a difficult time in class since he does not have the assistant
   to help."

• "Our school eliminated several science classes. My school no longer
   offers physics due to budget cuts."

• "My school eliminated several extracurricular clubs due to
   budget cuts."

• "My school eliminated several art and music classes due to
   budget cuts."

• "My school lost a full time librarian due to budget cuts."

• "Our computers are slow and the school has no funding to
  replace them."

• "Our internet at school is slow and there is no money to increase
   bandwidth."

• "Class sizes are larger at my school due to budget cuts."

• "My school does not have funding to offer several math and science
   classes that I need for my future career."

• "Our school district told my school they had to increase class size
   due to budget cuts."

• "Our school district eliminated funding for small classes and told our
   school to focus more on general education classes that have larger
   enrollment. I lost several classes I needed for my career interest."

• "Students in our automotive technology class lost their instructor
   and had to take another class. My principal said these students
   would not be able to meet career-ready requirements since
   they lost the automotive class."

• "My calculus textbook is falling apart and teacher says we cannot
   get replacements due to budget cuts."

It was very painful for me listen to the reality of budget cuts in our schools. I know our Kentucky teachers and administrators are doing an amazing job every day – the results certainly show the tremendous progress we are making. However, it must be very discouraging to our teachers who are taking money out of their own pockets to support what children need in their classrooms. It is also discouraging to students and parents who often have to raise funds in order to provide for basics like school supplies and technology. The most depressing statement comes from the student who is unable to fulfill his/her dreams of being a scientist or an automotive engineer because the school was not able to offer classes the student needed to meet college and career ready expectations.

The Kentucky Association School Superintendents and the Kentucky School Boards Association are urging local boards of education to pass a resolution (see sample) and submit it to elected officials highlighting funding concerns. To date, 66 boards have done so. The Kentucky Education Association has launched the “Raise Your Hand” campaign in support of local schools. There is a growing grass roots movement across Kentucky to restore funding to education. I hope readers will join the effort.

Well-educated workforce key to Kentucky’s prosperity

This week, I read a report from the Economic Analysis and Research Network titled “A Well-Educated Workforce is Key to State Prosperity.” The report began by asking the question – “What can state governments do to boost the economic well-being of their people?” The report summarizes that incomes and wages increase when productivity increases. There are several key policy levers to increase productivity: investments in public infrastructure, in technological innovation at public universities and in workers through the education and training systems.

Many states, including Kentucky, have been taking the opposite approach to investment in the workforce. We have seen in the last four years, major reductions to base funding for our K-12 and our higher education systems. Recently, one state, Florida, took an approach of trying to lure employers from Kentucky to the sunshine state. This strategy does not work in the long run since there is very little investment in helping to make the existing workforce more productive.

The report provides several key findings that our policy makers in Kentucky need to review.

1.  Overwhelmingly, high-wage states are states with a well-educated workforce. There is a clear and strong correlation between the educational attainment of a state’s workforce and median wages in the state;

2. States can build a strong foundation for economic success and shared prosperity by investing in education; 

3. Cutting taxes to capture private investment from other states is a race-to-the-bottom strategy that undermines ability to invest in education (I hope Gov. Scott in Florida reads this);

4. States can increase the strength of their economies and their ability to grow and attract high-wage employers by investing in education and increasing number of well-educated workers, and;

5. Investing in education is also good for state budgets in the long run, since workers with higher incomes contribute more through taxes over the course of their lifetimes.

As I reported to the Interim Joint Subcommittee for P-12 education this week, it is time to reinvest in Kentucky education.

For a number of years, Kentucky educators have done significantly more with less. Kentucky education is one of the fastest improving education systems in the nation. However, our educators have hit a wall. Without significant reinvestment in P-12 education, we will begin losing ground. When we lose ground as a state, we have a less well-educated workforce. When we have a less well-educated workforce than our neighbors, we lose jobs and potential employers who pay living wages.

This conversation needs to happen in every community. Every superintendent, teacher, parent and business leader needs to have this conversation with their local school boards and state legislators. We are not going to “cut” our way to prosperity in Kentucky. Investments in education today will pay huge dividends in the short and long term.

Specifically, I am pushing for three major priorities. 

1. Restore the basic SEEK funding per pupil to $3,866 (this will cost $60 million in FY15 and $90 million in FY16 (due to growth and keeping former dropouts in school).

2. Restore funds for safe schools, extended school services, textbooks and preschool. These funds were originally part of the KERA in 1990. We need $60 million each year of the budget.

3. Restore funds to expand access to broadband and network services to our school districts Also, provide a $50 million, 5-year bond to replace aging technology equipment. ($20 million in FY 15 and $20 million in FY16).

While there are many other needs, these are the basic priorities. In a recent meeting with all local superintendents in Kentucky, there was almost universal agreement on these priorities. It is time to connect the dots that a well-educated work force is the key to our Commonwealth’s prosperity.

Thinking outside the cage

As superintendents and school boards begin to finalize budgets for the 2013-14 school year, the impact of federal sequestration and the Kentucky School Boards Insurance Trust (KSBIT) assessment on top of the end of stimulus funds and the continued decline of state dollars have made a tough task an almost impossible task. How do you provide teachers the resources and support they need so that more children reach college and career readiness?

I recommend to education leaders a new book, “Cage-Busting Leadership” by Rick Hess, that I had a chance to read over the weekend. Many readers will recognize the name Rick Hess from his policy work at the American Enterprise Institute. The book will help education leaders think outside the “cage” when developing solutions to difficult problems that we all are facing with regard to budget and reaching higher levels of performance.

Hess believes that two things are true.

“It is true, as would-be reformers often argue, that statutes, policies, rules, regulation, contracts and case law make it tougher than it should be for school and systems leaders to drive improvement, and, well, lead. However, it is also the case that leaders have far more freedom to transform, reimagine, and invigorate teaching, learning, and schooling than widely believed.”

As I read the book, I relived many experiences as a teacher, principal, local superintendent and commissioner when I looked at how things could be rather than how they were. We, as education leaders, are in a remarkable time when
leadership will truly make a difference for children. Just one example of “cage-busting leadership” helps to make the point.

As we look at our budget challenges in Kentucky, we have the opportunity to create new models of teaching and learning. We are seeing some of these models in our Innovation Lab Network schools and in the proposals being developed for our Districts of Innovation legislation. Rick Hess mentions a few models on page 149.

Rotation – Within a given course or subject, students rotate between learning modalities. Rocketship Education has created a hybrid model where students rotate out of classrooms to receive extra math and reading instruction via online learning.

Flipped classroom – This model utilizes online instruction for content; students receive more teacher-guided practice in the classroom.

Flex model – Students receive primarily online instruction and have a fluid schedule at school.

Self-blend – Students choose to take one or more courses online and blend between other models for the remainder of their course schedule.

As we all try to solve the challenges of less money and increasing expectations, I hope as leaders we will look to innovative methods and creative problem solving to help more students reach college and career readiness.

Finding Excitement and Focus Throughout Kentucky’s School Districts

One of my goals as commissioner is to visit all 174 school districts in Kentucky. To date, I have visited 150 districts and over 400 schools. My target date for completing all visits is December 2012.

During the past few weeks, I have visited schools and districts from east to west and north to south. The excitement level is very high during the opening weeks of school. During my visits, it is important for me to talk with administrators, teachers and students about what is working and what is not working with regard to implementation of our Unbridled Learning strategic plan. This blog provides a few highlights of my recent visits.

The Unbridled Learning vision of every child proficient and prepared for success has reached classrooms across Kentucky. In talking with students, parents, business leaders and educators, the vision of ALL students graduating with the skills needed to be successful in college and career has captured the imagination and actions of individuals across the Commonwealth. Educators, parents and business leaders tell me that they understand the vision and think it is the right one for the future of our state and the future of children. Career and technical educators are very excited about being part of the vision, and schools and districts are integrating career and technical options with academic programs.

When I visit schools, I enjoy talking directly with teachers. What I am hearing from teachers is support for the Common Core Standards. Teachers of language arts are especially excited about the increasing rigor of writing and research. Also, they are excited about the increase in the use of non-fiction materials. Math teachers strongly support the math standards; however, they are concerned about the learning gaps that students have and feel that it will take 3-4 years to close those gaps and see significant progress on assessments. Science teachers are very interested in the new science standards that have been recently developed for review. Social studies teachers are anxiously awaiting new social studies standards. Every teacher I have talked with at the high school level supports the new end-of-course assessments and strongly support student accountability for the assessments.

Educators are very concerned about a couple of things. The major concern is continued budget cuts. In the face of whole-scale education reform, our state budget has not funded textbooks and resources for four years. Professional development has been reduced from $25 per pupil to less than $4 per pupil. Increasing costs of health care and pensions have had an impact on local funding. Educators also are concerned about the results from the new assessments. They support the assessments, but are worried that parents and community members will not clearly understand the significant change in the results.

The visits to schools and districts are important strategies. By listening to teachers, administrators, parents, students and the business community, I can bring back to the General Assembly, education department and the Kentucky Board of Education the “realities” that our teachers are facing. I am humbled every time I visit a school by the positive and “can-do” attitude that I find. It is indeed an exciting and challenging time for education in Kentucky. Hats off to all our educators, and best wishes for a successful school year

The Debates on School Budgets Continue

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to the American Enterprise Institute on November 17, 2010:

“I am here to talk today about what has been called the New Normal. For the next several years, preschool, K-12, and postsecondary educators are likely to face the great challenge of doing more with less.

“My message is this challenge can, and should be, embraced as an opportunity to make dramatic improvements. I believe enormous opportunities for improving the productivity of our education system lie ahead if we are smart, innovative, and courageous in rethinking the status quo.

“It’s time to stop treating the problem of educational productivity as a grinding, eat-your-broccoli exercise. It’s time to start treating it as an opportunity for innovation and accelerating progress.”

I have used this quote in numerous presentations, and Secretary Duncan was our keynote speaker for the Productivity and Efficiency Conference in November 2011 in Louisville. The reality of this quote has been hitting our school districts for a number of years, and the fiscal year 2013-14 state and local budgets appear to be the most difficult in recent history.

I recently read a report from the Fordham Institute entitled How Americans Would Slim Down Public Education. This report represents feedback from surveys and focus groups conducted by the Fordham Institute. The recommendations from the report are as follows:

1)      Shrink the administration.

2)      Freeze salaries to save jobs.

3)      If teachers must be laid off, base it on their effectiveness, not years of service.

4)      Opt for larger classes taught by excellent teachers rather than smaller classes with instructors of unknown ability.

5)      Move from traditional pensions to individual retirement plans.

The purpose of this blog is not to support this particular report but to highlight the national and state debates concerning school funding. Readers also should be familiar with the possible federal cuts to education from sequestration that I warned about, the work that the Kentucky Education Advocacy Team (KEAT) has done on the state education budget and the work of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

There are only three methods that I am aware of with regard to budgets. First, we must ensure all of our processes in education are efficient and productive. Second, we must redirect existing dollars from programs that are not efficient and productive to programs that are working. And third, we must look for additional revenue sources dedicated to effective programs. Working on only one method or cutting across the board are not strategies that will work in the long term.

These next two years are going to be extremely difficult budget years given the loss of federal stimulus dollars, possible federal sequestration, state budget cuts, the pending pension crisis, rising health care costs and increasing demands on schools. Leaders and policy makers need a balanced perspective when making decisions that impact teaching and learning.

Terry Holliday, Ph.D.

Interesting Times in Frankfort

The final days of a “short session” are always interesting. This year is no exception. I informed superintendents via e-mail yesterday about the Senate budget language that would reduce education funding. Over numerous months and in many meetings, I have alerted educators to the Medicaid issue that would eventually have to be reconciled and its impact on P-12 education funding. (See earlier blog postings “Budget Facts and Effects,” “Budget Should Reflect the Needs of Children,” “The New Normal” and “Kentucky’s Moral, Economic and Civic Obligation.”)

Also, I have alerted educators on numerous occasions about the “funding cliff” that is approaching in 2012. I thought readers might be interested in the background about the budget process, and I found an excellent summary of events in the KEA Advocate. With permission from KEA, here are some highlights from the article.

Events
About 7:15 on Wednesday evening, the state Senate voted to cut school funding for the 2011-12 school year. The bill also removes class size limits, eliminates the requirement for kindergarten aides, and removes the requirement for preschool teachers to be certified.

The bill - HB 305 SCS - now goes back to the House to concur or not concur in the changes the Senate made to the bill. This bill will likely go to a conference committee of the two chambers.

Background
Because of less federal support than expected, Kentucky's Medicaid funding faces a significant shortfall. Governor Beshear proposed, and the House agreed, to a "fix" for this issue that did not require cuts in school funding. The House passed its bill - HB 305 - on Feb. 10, the 12th legislative day of this 30-day short session.

HB 305 sat in the Senate for more than two weeks with no action. Then on Tuesday, the 24th day of the session, after the Senate had already adjourned for the day, the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee adopted a substitute version of the bill that contains significant cuts in school funding.

About 24 hours after the bill passed Senate A&R, the entire Senate passed the Senate Committee Substitute (SCS) to HB 305.

Proposed Cuts
HB 305 SCS, as adopted by the Senate, contains these cuts in school funding:
SEEK: reductions of $38.6 million. When these cuts are added to the anticipated shortfall we already knew about, the total is $67.3 million for next school year, about a 2.3% cut.
NON-SEEK: other reductions in education funding amount to $9.4 million.

What Happens Next
On Thursday (3/3), HB 305 SCS will be returned to the House of Representatives. The first vote to occur will be whether or not to concur with the Senate's changes in the bill. If the House does not concur, it will inform the Senate. Then each chamber may appoint a joint conference committee to try to work out the differences. House and Senate leadership each appoint members of the conference committee. This process will probably take most of the day Thursday.

Next, the conference committee will meet and try to negotiate a compromise that both chambers can pass. If the committee is a "free" conference committee, other bills can be added to the committee's recommendations so literally, anything can happen. Making this situation more difficult is the legislative calendar. The General Assembly is scheduled to recess after its session on Monday, March 7. They will then reconvene on March 21 and 22 and then adjourn. All this means there is very little time for the General Assembly to consider and act on this crucial issue.

As commissioner, I am extremely concerned about any cuts to public education; however, I also know that the budget situation is extremely complex, given the Medicaid situation. I also realize that the situation was made even more complicated by the unexpected increase in students that resulted in a $28 million shortfall for the Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) funding in 2012.

I am also concerned about the impact of budget cuts on our children’s future. We are in the middle of major education reform with 2009’s Senate Bill1 implementation. This reform focuses on improving the college and career readiness of Kentucky students. This reform will mean an improved economy for Kentucky and improved futures for Kentucky children. Budget cuts will have a significant impact on our ability to deliver on the promise of this reform legislation.

I hope that the budget conferees will consider the future of Kentucky’s children as they make difficult decisions in the next few days.