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Associated Press
13-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Kentucky governor authorizes funding to fill unintended shortfall in state education funding
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear took action Thursday to fill an unintended shortfall in the state's main funding source for K-12 schools, saying he wants to head off midyear cutbacks in school districts. The Democratic governor said he authorized an additional $14.7 million in so-called SEEK funding for Kentucky's 171 public school districts in the current academic year. That amount is meant to plug the shortfall within parts of the SEEK formula that are required by law to be paid to districts. 'It's not right for our schools to face tough cuts in the middle of a school year,' Beshear said while announcing the funding decision at his weekly news conference. State Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher said the governor's funding announcement was a 'significant development for our public schools and cannot be overstated.' 'This action demonstrates what can be achieved for public schools and our students through collaborative efforts,' Fletcher said at the same event. The Support Education Excellence in Kentucky, or SEEK, program includes a base per-pupil allocation, as well as additional funding for transportation costs and special-needs students. Beshear's action came days after state education leaders told a legislative panel that school districts would have to adjust their budgets in response to the shortfall in state funding. The governor said Thursday that the budget bill passed by lawmakers last year permitted the state education commissioner to request the increased appropriation — if the required expenditures exceed initial estimates — and for the governor to approve those funds. 'We do have the funds to get this done, and thus I've approved that $14.7 million increase for our schools,' the governor said. 'It won't have any negative impacts on any other areas of the budget.' Republican lawmakers have touted the amounts of education funding included in the budget, and said they relied on estimates from the state education department in determining the SEEK funding. State House Speaker David Osborne on Thursday questioned Beshear's action, saying: 'The governor does not have the ability to appropriate money.' Osborne, a Republican, said he had not yet seen details on Beshear's action but said he could not recall any budget language giving him such authority. Lawmakers continue to discuss whether to reopen the current budget to deal with SEEK funding, he told reporters. Meanwhile, there's an additional $26 million shortfall for funding to districts that should be paid if funds are available, state education officials told lawmakers this week. The education department is working with lawmakers on potential state support for those items that are conditioned on the availability of funds, Fletcher said Thursday.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Beshear authorizes $14.7 million to Kentucky schools to cover budget shortfall
Gov. Andy Beshear gives the State of the Commonwealth address on Jan. 8, 2025, in Frankfort. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Arden Barnes) FRANKFORT — Gov. Andy Beshear is authorizing $14.7 million to cover part of a $40 million state funding shortfall facing public schools. The Democratic governor announced during his weekly press conference that he is granting a request from Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher for additional SEEK funds, or Support Education Excellence in Kentucky, to cover the statutorily required $14.7 million the current budget is expected to miss. With Fletcher present, Beshear said he was 'excited to remove this pending burden on our public schools.' The governor also said he hoped he could do more for schools in the future, such as his long-standing proposal to increase school employees' salaries and implement universal pre-K programs statewide. The amount he authorized was the most he could do under past budget legislation. 'We were able to get the final numbers earlier than originally expected, which allows us to fill this budget hole so that our schools can plan appropriately,' Beshear said. 'So to all of our public educators — we care about you, we love you, and we need you.' Fletcher released a memo last month that said the Kentucky Department of Education is predicting a funding shortfall of about $40 million in the 2024-25 academic year, after 'a detailed review of preliminary data.' The $14.7 million request is part of that number. The remaining amount are funds designated for local school districts if available. Fletcher said he and Kentucky's public schools appreciated the governor's authorization. He also added that he and KDE would continue to discuss possible future funding with lawmakers, depending on the availability of funds. 'This action demonstrates what can be achieved for public schools and our students through collaborative efforts,' Fletcher said. The SEEK formula determines state funding to local school districts. It has a base per-pupil funding allocation, along with additional funding for factors like transportation costs or the number of students in a district who qualify for additional resources like special education, free or reduced-price meals and English language assistance. KDE officials appeared before a House committee this week and said the estimates were made in fall of 2023. There, they said if no action was taken, the $14.7 million would come out of monthly payments given to school districts between April and June. The required $14.7 million is about 0.5% of the $2.7 billion appropriated for schools through SEEK. Last week, Republican House Speaker David Osborne, of Prospect, reiterated comments he made after KDE raised the alarm on a possible SEEK funding shortfall. Osborne said it was a 'disturbing trend' to 'continue to see bad information and bad data.' He added that it has been 'several years now that we have seen inaccurate information.'
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kentucky lawmakers, education officials discuss school funding shortfall
Robbie Fletcher, state commissioner of education, discussed the expected SEEK funding shortfall before a legislative committee Tuesday. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley) FRANKFORT — Kentucky Department of Education officials appeared before a House subcommittee Wednesday morning to discuss a state funding shortfall that could impact local school districts. Last month, Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher wrote in a memo that KDE is predicting a SEEK funding shortfall of about $40 million in the 2024-25 academic year, after 'a detailed review of preliminary data.' On Tuesday, Fletcher told lawmakers that multiple factors that go into the SEEK formula, such as growth in the numbers of students and English language learners and increased property values, were different than what was projected. He called the process of arriving at estimates 'a consensus building process between the Office of State Budget Director' and KDE. 'We arrive at numbers on a very complex modeling and of course, this modeling happened in the fall of 2023, so … we're at the point now having to deal with what was projected in 2023,' Fletcher said. The KDE officials appeared before the House Budget Review Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education and Workforce Development to discuss the data used to predict how much money the legislature should budget for schools under SEEK, or Support Education Excellence in Kentucky, The formula determines the amount of state funding to local school districts. It has a base per-pupil funding allocation, along with additional funding for factors like transportation costs or the number of students in a district who qualify for additional resources like special education, free or reduced-price meals and English language assistance. Fletcher wrote in his January memo that a SEEK shortfall previously occurred four times between fiscal years 2010 and 2024. Of the $40 million shortfall predicted for this year, $14.7 million of the amount is required under state law. The remaining $26 million is designated for local school districts if funds are available. According to KDE's presentation, if no action is taken on the shortfall, the $14.7 million would come out of monthly payments given to school districts between April and June. Chay Ritter, the director of the Division of District Support in KDE, gave an example of how Jefferson County Public Schools, the state's largest district, could be impacted if no action is taken on the shortfall. The district would receive $1.3 million less than the SEEK calculation this fiscal year. 'Making that cut for some districts, it may be a hiccup. For others, it may be pretty rough,' Ritter said. 'So, we're very conscious of that, and that's why we obviously try to avoid that.' A presentation slide showed that estimates of various factors in the SEEK formula were within 0.2% to 10.1% of the actual cost. However, that can reflect millions of dollars within the total funding budget. The required $14.7 million is about 0.5% of KDE's budget appropriation, which is $2.7 billion. Last Tuesday, Republican House Speaker David Osborne, of Prospect, reiterated comments he made after KDE raised the alarm on a possible SEEK funding shortfall. Osborne said it was a 'disturbing trend' to 'continue to see bad information and bad data.' He added that it has been 'several years now that we have seen inaccurate information.' 'I don't think it's intentional, but there's a disconnect somewhere in getting us good information,' Osborne said. 'That's all we have when we make budgets, is the information that we're given on those things. So for us to construct a budget, we've got to have good data going in. Osborne said that the data comes from a combination of what KDE provides and what the legislature requests. When asked if that process could change in the future, Osborne said 'it very well could. Meanwhile, Republican Senate President Robert Stivers, of Manchester, told reporters that he had been in conversations with KDE about the predicted SEEK funding shortage. 'There was a little bit of an undercount, but not much,' he said. 'There was an impact of increased property taxes. So, there were several components to this that caused us to have a shortfall, but it's not unusual that occurs because different things happen.' Stivers said adjustments have been made before on SEEK funding throughout his time in the legislature.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kentucky's Education Leaders Warn State Is $40 Million Short in Funding Schools
This article was originally published in Kentucky Lantern. The Kentucky Department of Education is predicting a 'funding shortfall' of about $40 million in state support for local school districts. In a weekly letter to colleagues released Tuesday afternoon, Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher wrote that KDE is predicting the shortfall for funding in the 2024-25 academic year, after 'a detailed review of preliminary data.' 'KDE is currently tracking an estimated SEEK shortfall of $12 million for funding to public school districts provided in Kentucky statutes,' Fletcher wrote. 'KDE estimates an additional shortfall of $28 million for funding to public school districts that is specifically conditioned on the availability of funds.' Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter The SEEK formula, or Support Education Excellence in Kentucky, determines the amount of state funding to local school districts. The formula has a base per-pupil funding allocation, along with additional funding for factors like transportation costs or the number of students in a district who qualify for additional resources like special education, free or reduced-price lunch and English language assistance. Fletcher wrote that a SEEK shortfall previously occurred four times between fiscal years 2010 and 2024. 'Since the 2017 fiscal year, the Commonwealth's SEEK budget included more funding than was ultimately payable to districts as required by the SEEK formula,' Fletcher said. 'During the 2021 fiscal year, there was a $231,000 surplus in SEEK appropriations. During the last fiscal year, there was a $156.3 million surplus in SEEK appropriations.' To determine estimated costs for each biennial state budget, KDE works with the Kentucky Office of the State Budget Director 'to gather data projecting property values, public school enrollments and student special populations' as lawmakers consider the budget, Fletcher wrote. The state budget director's office in November predicted that Kentucky's general fund revenue will decline by $213 million or 1.4% in fiscal year 2025. Some Republican lawmakers have questioned the projections and noted that actual revenues are up a bit through the first five months of this fiscal year. Fletcher added that KDE is currently working with the state budget director and chairs of the General Assembly's Appropriations and Revenue committees, Republicans Rep. Jason Petrie and Sen. Chris McDaniel, 'to explore funding options that may address this estimated shortfall and minimize impacts to Kentucky's public schools.' Lawmakers met earlier this month to begin their 2025 legislative session and will return to Frankfort in February. The House already has approved a reduction in the state income tax rate from 4% to 3.5% and the Senate is expected to quickly follow suit. 'These shortfall numbers are only estimates now and are subject to change in the upcoming weeks as the department completes final SEEK calculations,' Fletcher said. 'State law requires KDE to complete final SEEK calculations by March 1 of each year. KDE will provide information to school districts regarding the impact to individual districts as soon as those final calculations are complete. While we know this estimated shortfall is critical to our public schools, it is important to keep in mind that it represents 1.43% of our overall SEEK funding of $2.7 billion.' The SEEK formula was established by the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990, but questions around school funding have been raised recently. Last week, students on the Kentucky Student Voice Team filed a lawsuit against the state for failing to provide 'an adequate and equitable public education.' Among claims in their suit, the students say eroding state financial support for school districts has made the inequality gap even wider than it was before 1990. KSVT's data came from sources such as KDE, the federal government, and a data analysis from the progressive think tank Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. However, Republicans in Frankfort have argued they are funding schools at record-levels. At the Kentucky Chamber Day Dinner earlier this month, Republican House Speaker David Osborne criticized 'people that have not provided one single, substantive, creative, thoughtful, intentional policy change to improve education' and said that 'asking for more money is not big. Asking for more money is not bold. Asking for more money is just an ask — and it's not working.' Kentucky has 171 public school districts. Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that SEEK funding shortfalls occurred four times between fiscal years 2010 and 2024. Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@
