By Tony McVeigh
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkms/local-wkms-862165.mp3
Kentucky Public Radio?s Tony McVeigh.
Frankfort, KY – The Kentucky Attorney General's office says the board that oversees community colleges did NOT have the authority to eliminate tenure for new faculty hires. We get more from Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeigh.
In March, the Board of Regents of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System voted 10-4 to eliminate tenure for teachers hired after June 30th. The board said the move would save money, without eliminating protections for teachers.
But the action drew a firestorm of criticism from teachers within the 16-school system, with no-confidence votes in the board spreading across the state. The action also led Rep. Rick Nelson to seek an attorney general's opinion on the matter, which has now been issued.
The six-page opinion says while the board has exclusive authority to govern KCTCS, such authority "cannot be over and against that of the General Assembly," and state law says new hires "shall receive tenure."
KCTCS officials, who are still reviewing the opinion, plan to discuss it at this week's regents' meeting.