Coalition calls for more education accountability, school choice

Friday, April 28, 2006

Coalition calls for more education accountability, school choice

(Bowling Green, Kentucky) Sister Mattie Jones, chairman of the board of the Justice Resource Center, members of the center's staff and Jim Waters, director of policy and communications for the Bluegrass Institute, announced a new campaign today by an alliance of concerned Kentuckian's to promote more accountability in Kentucky's public education system.

"For too long, too many of Kentucky's children particularly black students have been trapped in failing schools with no way out," said the Rev. Louis Coleman, director of the Justice Resource Center and leading advocate for Louisville's black community. "We are tired of broken promises from the politicians and education bureaucrats who keep spending our money but giving us too many failing schools."

A recent report by the Bluegrass Institute - entitled "Bang for the Buck: How cost effective are Kentucky's public schools" and available at www.bipps.org - shows that despite a massive amount of funding, too many Kentucky schools are failing to provide an adequate education for our neediest children. For example, when comparing per-pupil spending with schools' overall CATS Index, the following schools are some of the least effective in Kentucky, according to the latest information available.

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