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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 Kentuckians 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/509 – 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:

• In Jefferson County, Shawnee High School spent $11,892 per student during the 2003-04 school year, which is more than twice the state average of $5,298. Yet at the same time, the schools’ CATS Index was 46.8, compared to the state average of 70.9.

• Other Jefferson County Public Schools that are performing nearly as poorly include Southern Leadership Academy Middle Schools, Atkinson Elementary School and Western and Iroquois high schools.

• The Academy at Lexington Elementary spent $12,021 per pupil during the 2003-04 school year – compared to the state average of $5,935 – and yet scored only a 58.8 on the overall CATS Index, which was way below the state average of 78.6. Also, Harrison Elementary School in Fayette County is spending $11,219 per pupil and yet offers only an overall CATS Index of 58.4.

• The report also reveals how Buckhorn High School in Perry County, Greenup County’s Wurtland Middle School and Harrison Elementary School in Fayette are performing poorly when it comes to the amount of hard-earned tax dollars being spent on each pupil versus the academic performance of the schools.

“Why shouldn’t parents of children trapped in these failing schools have alternatives?” Waters said. “Several states now offer some form of school choice that allows for the creation of charter schools and open-enrollment agreements. Kentucky parents deserve the same opportunities.”

The coalition will work to build a grassroots effort that will result in greater accountability on the part of our public schools, including the creation of charter schools in Kentucky. Charter schools are innovative schools that operate without the burdensome regulations forced upon many school districts by teachers unions and state education bureaucrats.

There will not be meaningful change in Kentucky’s schools until parents are fully empowered to decide which school is best for their children and the funding follows those decisions. When that happens, far fewer children will be left behind.

--For interview information, contact the Justice Resource Center at (502) 562-6737 or the Bluegrass Institute at (270) 782-2140 or jwaters@bipps.org.

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