April 11, 2008 04:13 pm
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It is too bad that Kentucky Education Commissioner Jon Draud waited until after the General Assembly had approved the biennium budget to complain about a lack of adequate funding for elementary and secondary schools. If he had been more free with his opinions while the budget was being debated, perhaps the former Republican House member could have convinced his former colleagues to be more open toward increasing funding for schools by at least imposing the modest 25-cent-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax supported by the House-approved budget.
But now that it is too late to change the budget, Draud says Kentucky needs additional revenue — a.k.a. a tax hike — to handle its financial woes.
“This is not so much about financial support as it is about a philosophy that children are important and that their education should be our primary concern,” said Draud, the former superintendent of the tiny Ludlow Independent School District.
According to a review by the Council for Better Education, the budget would cut funding for grades kindergarten through high school by $2 million in the next fiscal year. It would provide $86 million more in the following fiscal year, according to the group’s report.
Draud said a number of programs would be affected, including extended school services, professional development for teachers and school safety.
The approved budget “requires hard decisions by our public school administrators and this agency,” Draud said. “Which children will get the help they need? How are teachers going to get additional training? What happens to the momentum that many schools are experiencing on the road to proficiency and what about those schools that are struggling?”
Why did Draud wait until now to publicly ask such questions? The commissioner of education should be a leader who boldly advocates for the good of the children of this state. Yet one reason the new budget is so lean is the adamant opposition of Republicans in the Senate to any increase in taxes. As a former Republican legislator, Draud could have had some influence with those senators even though he never served in the Senate.
We find it disheartening that Gov. Steve Beshear, Draud and other leaders waited until it was too late to complain about a budget that they knew was inadequate. The time to lead is when you can still make a difference.
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