Recent editorials from Kentucky newspapers:
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March 8
The Daily News of Bowling Green on expanding the pool of job applicants for the Kentucky State Police:
Being in law enforcement has to be a rewarding job for the men and women in blue.
On a daily basis, these brave officers not only help people who are down on their luck or are in a scary situation, they also put their lives on the line for us every time they put on their uniforms.
We owe so much to these officers, especially considering the negative rhetoric directed at police officers across this country over the past few years.
Who could blame some who thought about being police officers a few years ago for not going through with it, considering the negative assaults on their profession, with the bulk of them being undeserved.
We certainly can’t.
But we know that we must add more and more police officers to our streets to keep our communities safe from crime.
With it becoming harder and harder to find qualified officers, sometimes you have to make adjustments in the application process to make it easier for some who have the desire but might lack the right amount of education or certain skills currently required to become a police officer.
This is why we were glad to see that state Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Paducah, introduced legislation that would expand the potential pool of job applicants for the Kentucky State Police.
When Carroll, who is a retired assistant chief with the Paducah Police Department, introduced Senate Bill 247, in addition to removing the age ceiling, the bill proposed changing officer eligibility to allow a person with a high school diploma or General Educational Development diploma and three years of “experience demonstrating commitment and professionalism in prior employment, training and certifications” to become a sworn officer.
Currently, KSP requires applicants to have 60 semester hours of credit from an accredited college or university or be a high school graduate with at least two years of active military duty or two years of experience as a full-time sworn law enforcement officer.
As the bill moved through the Senate, it was amended to leave the current educational and/or work experience requirements in place but lift the age ceiling that requires candidates to be at least 21 years old but no older than 31.
While we believe that lowering the requirement on education and on experience would’ve drawn a lot more applicants, we were glad to see that the age limit for joining the state police was relaxed.
Thirty-one years old and ages past that are still pretty young for many people. We believe that those who are this age and older are still very capable of becoming state police officers.
If Carroll’s legislation is passed into law, KSP will hopefully have a wider pool of applicants to fill its ranks to provide public safety for the people of Kentucky.
We applaud Carroll on introducing this important piece of legislation.
Online:
https://www.bgdailynews.com
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March 7
The Lexington Herald-Leader on the state’s charter-school bill:
The charter-school bill that generated six hours of emotional debate before clearing the House on Friday is chock-full of uncertainties and unanswered questions.
At the top of the list is how charter schools would be funded, a topic on which the House whiffed.
Problems were quickly identified in the proposed funding mechanism after House Bill 520 was introduced Feb. 17. In response, the sponsor simply stripped any mention of funding in the version that advanced through the House on March 3.
How, you may ask, can lawmakers even consider a bill allowing charter schools without spelling out how they would be funded or knowing the budget implications for local school districts. The answer is they can’t responsibly.
Another surprise, the mayors of Lexington and Louisville were added as authorizers of charter schools, which makes HB 520’s silence on funding even more of a problem. (The bill also appears to authorize the mayors of 80 small cities in Jefferson County to authorize charter schools.)
Mayors have no authority to direct a school board or the Kentucky Department of Education to transfer money to a charter school. So, how would these mayor-authorized schools be funded? It’s one of HB 520’s many mysteries.
With just five days remaining in this General Assembly, we have to agree with the Kentucky School Boards Association that HB 520 should not become law.
Likes us, the group that represents Kentucky’s 173 school districts kept an open mind on charter schools, waiting for the specifics.
But, as KSBA notes, HB 520 gives local school boards only token authority to decide whether to approve a charter school. The real authority rests with the state school board, which is appointed by the governor. The standards by which local and state boards would judge charter-school applications are far too ambiguous.
It’s unclear whether a charter proposal could be turned down because it would diminish the capacity of a school district to educate its students. And the bill says state board decisions would be appealed to a “district court of appeals,” which, FYI to whomever wrote this legislation, is not anything that exists in Kentucky.
A host of other concerns are yet to be addressed: HB 520 retains the tenure of teachers leaving public schools for charters, making it difficult or impossible to fill vacant teaching spots. The only funding aspect that’s addressed in HB 520 is transportation, but it’s unclear how existing transportation funds can be stretched to accommodate charter students. The bill would allow an unlimited number of charter schools and no doubt has other problems yet to be discovered.
Despite Republican Gov. Matt Bevin’s repudiation of charter-school opponents as disgusting and liars, six Republicans in the House voted against HB 520. They diverged from their party line because the worries about HB 520 are troubling and real.
As has been pointed out many times, Kentucky is one of only seven states without charter schools. With so many examples to learn from, we should be able to avoid others’ mistakes.
At the very least, we should be able to draft a bill that is not full of uncertainties and unanswered questions.
Online:
https://www.kentucky.com/
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March 2
The Courier-Journal on House Bill 151 - the so-called “Neighborhood Schools” bill.
Segregated schools in Jefferson County were wrong in the years leading up to Judge James Gordon’s 1975 ruling requiring the merger and integration of schools across the county.
Segregated schools will be the result again if the 2017 Kentucky legislature passes House Bill 151 - the so-called “Neighborhood Schools” bill.
First, call it what it is: the “Segregated Schools” bill.
The issue does not require 5,000 words or even 500 words to make the case that the legislation is fundamentally detrimental for students and wrong for this community.
The student assignment system in Jefferson County is not perfect. What system in life is perfect?
Let’s be clear. When busing started in the mid-1970s, 23,000 students were assigned to schools and shuttled across the school system. There was no choice.
Today, 92 percent of kindergarten students attend the school that their parents designated as their first choice.
That is progress.
In 2017 it is shocking, but, sadly, not shocking, that turning back the clock to create segregated schools anew is on the table. Shameful is a better word.
As it did in the 1970s, the Courier-Journal steadfastly stands in support of fully integrated schools in Jefferson County. JCPS must continue improving the system. The leaders in Frankfort must not legislate turning back the clock to a period called “separate but equal.”
It is time to say no to the damage the “Segregated Schools” bill will bring to education and the community.
Online:
https://www.courier-journal.com/
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