Perspectives

In a bizarre reversal of the commitment lawmakers made last year to make Kentucky the 44th state with charter schools, the final state budget approved earlier this week includes no funding mechanism to allow education dollars to follow students when they choose to attend one. This makes it highly unlikely that any applications for charter schools will move forward or be approved for Fall 2018 as originally anticipated. Kentucky will be a charter state with no charter schools. more

After weeks of listening to so many shallow-minded politicians criticize teachers, let me invite everyone to take a step backward, take a deep breath, tone down the harsh rhetoric, and then take a moment to celebrate that one special teacher who changed each of us for a lifetime. more

There has been significant media coverage in recent weeks surrounding protests by the Poor People’s Campaign at the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort. Some sources have suggested that this group is somehow being arbitrarily “shut out” of access to the building because of the content of their message. This is simply not true. more

Kentucky faces a growth crisis, in large part due to a tax code that has long needed an overhaul. more

The accrued liability in our state pension systems is unarguably the biggest challenge facing our state economy. When reasonable assumptions are used, our total unfunded liability across all systems is more than $40 billion. more

“We are Kentucky!” This is more than just a simple catch phrase. From our cities to our rural communities, the commonwealth’s greatest assets are our people. more

The New York Times has reported on new research that was released by the Pew Research Center indicating a deepening cultural divide, that is, a political and moral divide between rural and urban Americans. more

Growing up in the 1950’s and 60’s in Cleveland, Ohio, I can still remember the difficulty I had with tuning the dial on the small AM transistor radio which I would sneak into class in late September to listen to the World Series through a small hidden earpiece. more

Kentucky has a criminal gang problem. more

Medicaid fraud weighs heavy on budgets—both state and federal—and robs important resources from the truly needy. Every dollar lost to waste, fraud, or abuse is a dollar that cannot go to fund services for those with genuine and urgent needs. more