Gov. Andy Beshear told LINK nky on Wednesday that he doesn’t think Kentuckians would approve a constitutional amendment to allow public funding for schools outside of the state’s current public education system.
When asked about any future legislative efforts to redefine common schools, aka public schools, for that purpose, Beshear said, “I believe that would take a constitutional amendment. I do not believe the people of Kentucky will vote for a constitutional amendment.”
“The creation of another school that would directly compete with the public school and receive public dollars is not the answer,” Beshear told LINK in a one-on-one interview.
The Kentucky General Assembly has passed so-called “school choice” legislation in recent years to allow public funds for private education tax credits and for public charter schools (legalized under a 2017 state law) governed by private boards. The Kentucky Supreme Court and lower courts have ruled such legislation unconstitutional.
Another attempt to push the issue of public funding for private education and potentially public charter schools is expected during the 2024 legislative session, this time via a proposed constitutional amendment.
Beshear, who unveiled a two-year state budget plan on Monday that includes a $2.5 billion boost for public education, including 11% raises for all public school employees, said he doesn’t support any such attempt. He told LINK he doesn’t expect Kentucky voters to bite should a proposed school choice amendment make it onto the 2024 ballot.
“Most of Kentucky only has public schools, and the idea that we would take dollars out of that system and send them somewhere else I believe is giving up on that system,” said Beshear.
When asked if he sees room for compromise on the issue of a public-private partnership for education, Beshear pointed to one specific area: technical education.
Right now, Kentucky has programs like the Kentucky Department of Education Tech Ready Apprentices for Careers in Kentucky, a youth apprenticeship program that links businesses and public school students for paid apprenticeship training. Beshear said there might be potential for similar partnerships in the future.
“I think you could look at certain pieces, if you were providing different technical education in different places,” he said.
None of that would require a constitutional amendment. Changing the definition of public schools (also called common schools) for private funding purposes would, said the governor.
“If we have a public school that isn’t performing the way that it should the answer isn’t to take money away from it and send money to a school that has less rules and regulations,” said Beshear. “
Support for school choice among NKY lawmakers
Some Northern Kentucky lawmakers have indicated that they support a proposed constitutional amendment on school choice in 2024. One of them is Rep. Steve Rawlings (R-Burlington), who told LINK nky in October that the 2024 Kentucky General Assembly must come up with “the strongest language we can” for a school choice amendment in the next session that starts Jan. 2.
Rep. Marianne Proctor (R-Union) also spoke to LINK nky about school choice in October. She said then that she supports putting the question before Kentucky voters.
“I think that’s where it belongs,” Proctor said. “It belongs with the people, letting them make that decision.”
But a proposed constitutional amendment requires three-fifths approval of both the Senate and House to make it to the ballot. It is uncertain that threshold (23 votes in the Senate and 60 in the House) could be met in a state where public school systems are often a major employer and the only local schools for miles.
From public ed to public safety
Besides a $2.5 billion investment in public education, Beshear’s budget proposal includes significant new funding for public safety, including an increase in the training stipend for local and state law enforcement and firefighters and a new project — a $146.1 million regional law enforcement training center in Western Kentucky.
Beshear said the facility would be located near Madisonville, which is a four hour drive from NKY. Currently the closest regional training facility for NKY police recruits is two hours away in Richmond.
It’s an accessibility issue that prompted local and state officials this fall to discuss the possibility of bringing a police training academy to NKY, as reported by LINK nky on Dec. 11.
LINK asked Beshear Wednesday if the governor sees potential for funding a NKY law enforcement training center similar to his proposal for the western region of the state. He said the focus right now is on making sure the Western Kentucky plan will work.
“This construction will be the first new facility outside of Richmond in decades,” the governor said. “I think right now we’re focused on making sure it can work, making sure that we have sufficient numbers at each of those facilities for staffing as well. And then it has to augment our (recruitment) numbers.”
Beshear said he is not opposed to exploring another training facility down the road. But he said he sees the western facility as a “big new first step.”
“I think we look at anything that works. I’m not closed off to the opportunity at all,” he said. “I just want to see when we make a first big new step, we make it successfully.”
Additional funding for Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project?
Also on the governor’s NKY radar is the rollout of the $3.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project spanning I-71/75 between Covington and Cincinnati.
In his Dec. 18 budget address, Beshear touted his support for the 2022 state Road Plan in which state lawmakers authorized a total of $855 million in state and federal funds for Kentucky’s $1.6 billion share of the eight mile project. Key elements of the Kentucky-Ohio project include major widening of I-75 and construction of a companion bridge just west of the existing bridge.
When asked by LINK if he would support additional funding in the next budget cycle if necessary, Beshear said yes.
“I am fully committed to building the Brent Spence Companion Bridge and corridor project without tolls, and stepping up and doing whatever we need in state dollars — whether that’s in the transportation budget or coming from the general fund — that we have to do to get it done,” the governor told LINK Wednesday.
Beshear added, however, that he doesn’t anticipate a need for more funding in the next budget cycle. According to the Legislative Research Commission, federal grant money ($1.6 billion allocated for the project in Dec. 22 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) and a $250 million state match will carry forward into the next two years. Any additional need would be drawn from federal funds and required matching funds, the agency told LINK in October.
But should a need for more Kentucky funding for the project arise in future fiscal years Beshear said he’ll get behind it.
“To be as clear as I can as governor, whatever it takes from the state, we’ve got the budget to do it.”
KENTUCKY IMPROVEMENTS
Widening and reconstructing approximately five miles of I-71/75 from the Dixie Highway interchange to the Ohio River will help ease congestion, improve safety, and separate interstate through traffic from local traffic on the approach to the Brent Spence and new companion bridge over the Ohio River. This new traffic pattern near the entrance to the bridge will help prevent weaving on the highway for drivers to get in the appropriate lane to continue north.
In addition, a new collector-distributor system – a local roadway network which helps traffic move more efficiently between the local roads and the interstates – will be built from 12th Street North and between Dixie Highway and Kyles Lane. This system streamlines the number of access points on and off the highway, which helps improve traffic flow and reduce high-speed crashes on the interstate.
Additionally, the project calls for the separation of stormwater runoff from the interstate roadway within the Willow Run combined sanitary system to reduce flooding. Working with local communities, the project team has also included enhanced pedestrian and bicycle facilities in Covington near the existing and new bridges. Aesthetic enhancements, such as decorative treatments on bridges and walls and new lighting offers improved visibility and potential gateways for communities along the corridor.
Dec 29, 2022
The Brent Spence Bridge corridor improvements have finally been granted funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that President Joe Biden signed in 2021.
CINCINNATI — After decades of promises and years of negotiations, Brent Spence Bridge corridor improvements have finally been granted funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law President Joe Biden signed in 2021.
According to a press release from Governors Andy Beshear and Mike DeWine, the U.S. Department of Transportation has officially awarded $1.635 billion in funding to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC).
“Ohio and Kentucky have been discussing the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project for almost two decades, and now, we can finally move beyond the talk and get to work,” said DeWine in a press release. “This project will not only ease the traffic nightmare that drivers have suffered through for years, but it will also help ensure that the movement of the supply chain doesn’t stall on this nationally significant corridor.”
n February, when Governors Andy Beshear and Mike DeWine signed a memorandum of understanding to seek federal funding from the Infrastructure Law, they announced the total Brent Spence Bridge project would have three components: A new companion bridge that will divert traffic from the Brent Spence Bridge, improvements to the existing bridge and reworking I-71/75 on both sides of the Ohio River. The companion bridge will be toll-free, both governors said.