Some reporters claim: “Kentucky’s choice: Have a mental health agency close or further damage the pension fund?” But a question not being asked is: Why was a nonpublic agency like Seven County Services on the taxpayer-funded public pension plan in the first place? Why are there 1,701 agencies on the commonwealth’s pension dole, including a private credit union with…
Join me from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday for another Bluegrass Monday segment on The Mandy Connell Show on Louisville’s 84WHAS. Mandy says it’s “the fastest hour in radio.” Tune in and you will understand why! Listen live online here. And please support the Bluegrass Institute so we can continue promoting free markets, individual…
Join Bluegrass Institute President Jim Waters to discuss Kentucky’s public pension spending with Matt Walsh at 4 p.m. on Lexington’s NewsRadio 630 WLAP-AM. Tune in live here as Jim discusses specific solutions to solving Kentucky’s public pension crisis.
(Frankfort, Ky.) – A pathway to pension reform released today by the Bluegrass Institute, Kentucky’s free market think tank, highlights critical steps state lawmakers need to take to rescue the state workers’ retirement plans from future insolvency and put it on the road to recovery. “Future Shock Solutions: 16 steps to treat Kentucky’s public pension ailment”…
The Courier-Journal reports that a letter from Kentucky Commissioner of Education Terry Holliday to the Jefferson County Public School System (JCPS) directly identifies confusion over union contract issues as a roadblock to making badly needed changes in the school district’s Persistently Low-Achieving Schools (PLAs). Holliday says that “perception issues” on the part of teachers in…
Tune in Monday to Louisville’s 84WHAS for the newest edition of Bluegrass Mondays with host Mandy Connell and Bluegrass Institute President Jim Waters from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. (eastern) Listen live online here.
Recent findings in an audit of Dayton Independent Schools led State Auditor Adam Edelen and Commissioner of Education Terry Holliday to call for more transparency in the contracts and evaluations of Kentucky school superintendents. In 2011, The Bluegrass Institute sent a records requests to Dayton Independent Schools to obtain the criteria for which the superintendent…
The Bluegrass Institute is far from alone with our concerns about a bill to raise the minimum high school dropout age to 18, which now awaits Governor Steve Beshear’s signature. Even the State Journal’s editors in Frankfort are opining: “Dropout bill misguided” (subscription). The Journal correctly points out that holding a kid in school for…
Tune in tomorrow to Louisville’s 84WHAS for the newest edition of Bluegrass Mondays with host Mandy Connell and Bluegrass Institute President Jim Waters from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. (eastern) Listen live online here.
Senate Bill 176, which would allow Kentucky’s Persistently Low-Achieving Schools to be reformed as charter schools, passed an important hurdle today when the Kentucky Senate’s Education Committee successfully voted the bill out of committee. SB 176 now moves to the Senate floor for a senate-wide vote. Testimony today was limited because a hearing on the…