Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear appeared Friday at the Ignite Institute in Boone County, where he told those in attendance “there is no excuse not to invest in public education right now” as he touted his $1.1 billion education plan.
Ignite Institute opened in 2019. Students follow a project-based learning method in several high-demand career fields in the Northern Kentucky region, helping them prepare for their careers before graduating from high school in fields like allied health, biomedical sciences, computer science, design, education, engineering and logistics.
Beshear’s Education First Plan would increase the average teacher salary in Kentucky to $42,191 from $38,010. The plan also addresses teacher raises, teacher vacancies, and a student loan forgiveness program for teachers.
The plan includes an 11% pay increase to schooling staff and universal pre-K.
“We have 26 counties in Kentucky where teachers’ salaries make up for 10% of the population,” Beshear said.
“Our public educators should not have to work a second job just to get by.”
Beshear said he credits the Kentucky Education Association’s 40,000 members to be key supporters in his reelection.
“I will always be opposed to taking dollars out of the school system,” Beshear said. “We need every single one of those dollars to educate our students. This facility is truly preparing our students for the economy of the future, which means Kentucky is already ahead of the game, compared to other states.”
Beshear said he is using the visit to push lawmakers to consider the importance of keeping teachers in the classroom and improving Kentucky’s education system.
“It is not a Democrat or Republican issue, it’s not red or blue, it serves people in every single county across this commonwealth,” Beshear said. “This is our time to be an economic leader.”