The Ovation development in Newport will not have anything to do with the potential charter school pilot in Northern Kentucky.
House Bill 9, which narrowly cleared the House this week with 51 votes, could bring a pilot charter school to Northern Kentucky.
But the details are still unclear as the bill faces significant hurdles before the end of the General Assembly session, where it will have to go through Senate committee and the full Senate before heading to Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk, where it’s likely to be vetoed. The legislature can override the veto with supermajorities in both the House and Senate.
However, there was some controversy with questions occurring on the House floor as to who was involved in the process in Northern Kentucky. Then on social media, a conspiracy theory emerged naming Corporex founder and chairman Bill Butler. The company is leading the development of Ovation but the project, contrary to the social media theory, does not include plans for a school.
“Contrary to rumors surrounding the charter school legislation under consideration in the Kentucky legislature, such school could not and will not be in any way a part of the development at Ovation – such is physically impossible,” Butler said in a statement.
Butler sits on the governing board of LINK Media, but the board does not influence the editorial operations of the publication.
Butler did say he is interested in bringing a charter school to Northern Kentucky in a separate project from Corporex.
“The mission is to provide an alternative pre-K through level eight school with an eye to two goals, first to keep young professional families from moving out of Covington and Newport when their children reach school age, and second to provide an opportunity for less hopeful children of the urban sector who can achieve at a higher level than the broader public school system simply cannot provide,” Butler said.
This is also a sentiment shared by House Bill 9 sponsor Rep. Chad McCoy (R-Bardstown), who called Northern Kentucky an “education desert” in committee this week, noting that one of the goals is to keep families in Northern Kentucky.
Another issue pointed out by social media users was Northern Kentucky University’s role in the process. NKU Board of Regents would need to oversee the charter pilot project. If they deny, school represenatives from Kenton and Campbell counties would provide leadership on the project. Whoever decides to manage the charter school would need to report how the project is working back to the state, McCoy said on the floor.
When asking questions on the floor, Northern Kentucky Rep. Rachel Robert (D-Newport) questioned if NKU had been notified. McCoy responded that NKU requested the option to be permissive, so NKU can opt out if they choose. But, NKU released the following statement that they were not notified.
“NKU was not consulted about being included as a potential charter school authorizer prior to our inclusion in HB9. Furthermore, we have not had the opportunity to fully understand what is in the bill. However, the language in the legislation does provide us the ability to study the implications before making any decisions. Should HB9 become law, we will have conversations with the multiple stakeholders in our community about what impact charter schools would have on K-12 education in northern Kentucky.”
