It has been on a slow downhill slide since I started in 2000. It really started getting bad financially a couple of years ago. I really think Fletcher did a poor job mismanaging state funds. However, I don't think that Beshear is doing any better - maybe he will. I do think his casino agenda pushed alot of other issues to the backburner. I don't know how much impact Beshear had on the current legislations education budget. Some of things being cut are sad. I know my program (special education of students with moderate to severe disabilities) is recieving NO money from the state level for our assessmet. This is a federally mandated program so we get some revenue from federal sources. So in order to do state required assessments, I have to used money that was generated for student educational supplies and materials from the federal level. So instead of using that money as it was intended (physical therapy equipment, communication devices, or maybe even some adapted text books or vocational training) I have to spend that money on materials to do state required assessments - which is a year long process.


As you look deeper in the issue, a great deal of the budget restraints stem from Bush's No Child Left Behind (NCLB). NCLB doubled each state's accountability requirements that they must assess and document, without increasing federal education revenue. Each district is forced to document, assess, and provide programs outlined under NCLB with essentially the same ammount of money they had to slimmly operate on prior to the plan. We are required to do more than ever, with the same money. Add in the rising costs of operating a school - we are now required to do more than ever, with less money than we started with. Also, there are no bonuses for districts exceeding or meeting the NCLB requirements, only negative financial consequences for districts (usually your lower income districts anyway) that are struggling to meet the requirements.

Sorry for the educational rant. I guess Moose will be impressed with it's length.