A government of enumerated, and therefore limited, powers
I spoke with Utah’s new U.S. Senator Mike Lee yesterday and asked him what federal spending is beyond the proper scope of federal involvement. His answer is worth hearing.
Now it’s time to manage?
Now that the special session has ended, the governor and the Health and Family Services secretary have begun their work to move all Medicaid enrollees to managed care in the commonwealth. Yesterday, CHFS Secretary Janie Miller released a statement announcing that her cabinet had issued a request for proposal (RFP) seeking proposals from managed care…
How much is enough?
Here’s just another reason why Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, is right in wanting to shut down the U.S. Department of Education: Since 2000, the department’s budget has increased by 57 percent — and that’s adjusted for inflation!
Teach for America coming to Kentucky — finally
Great news! A news release passed along by the Kentucky Department of Education says the Bluegrass State is about to get its first group of Teach for America (TFA) teachers. They are heading for some of our most demanding Appalachian area schools. Who are these teachers? They are graduates from some of the nation’s most…
Expecting educational excellence
“We have lowered our expectations to a level where getting by is considered acceptable,” wrote Hank Bond, publisher of the Greenup Beacon, in a recent column addressing problems with Kentucky’s education system. Bond, who worked as a public relations professional with a school district for a few years, offers the close-up view of one who…
Education task force’s report: More talk, few new ideas
The Governor’s Education Task Force report proposes many ideas for ”breaking new ground” when it comes to Kentucky’s education system. However, a closer examination reveals that the task force’s recommendations offer a lot of talk about the same old ideas. Most of its politically correct — and politically safe — proposals have been tossed around…
Governor cites Prichard nonsense
Governor Steve Beshear treated the Boone County Education Foundation to nonsense education statistics a few days ago. As reported by the Kentucky Enquirer in “Beshear touts education,” the governor touted Kentucky’s supposed dramatic improvement in the federal National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) testing program compared to other states. Well, as we’ve pointed out before,…
Tea Party starting to get involved with local school board races
In an encouraging sign that citizens are starting to take more interest in their schools, Education Week reports (subscription?) that local Tea Parties are starting to get involved in local school board races. This marks an important change in the conduct of school board races, which in the past have often been dominated by teachers’…
Jefferson County schools think because they are bigger, they can be ‘badder’
It’s becoming a typical pattern for Jefferson County Public Schools – dispute every number that shows you are doing poorly instead of digging in to make changes that improve things. Fox41 reports Jefferson County tops the state for the most problems in a new report on school safety. Fox also says Jack Jacobs, a spokesperson…
Oops! Pension system isn’t transparent
Attorney General Jack Conway recently claimed that Kentucky Retirement Systems violated the Kentucky Open Records Act when it refused to release records pertaining to its payroll. The reason given: the request was “unduly burdensome”. Yikes. Is it too burdensome to know how taxpayer dollars are being spent? Surely not. The Kentucky Open Records Act is…