When lawmakers return to Frankfort in January, Protect Our Schools KY is calling for them to “boldly invest” in public education with an additional $718 million each year.
The educational advocacy group says base per-pupil spending in Kentucky hasn’t kept up with inflation since 2008, and called for an investment that will begin to close that gap.
Rockcastle County Schools Superintendent Carrie Ballinger, who is also the president-elect of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents, thanked the Kentucky General Assembly for its support thus far, but said more funding is needed to retain teachers, invest in textbooks and more.
“This is the difference between Kentucky schools scraping by and Kentucky schools thriving,” Carrie said. “Together, let's make this generation of Kentucky children the best prepared in our history.”
The state is spending $3.3 billion this fiscal year on the state’s education funding model, called the SEEK formula — that’s 22% of state general fund spending for the year.
Calls for more spending have often frustrated Republican leadership, who say they are spending record amounts on education, particularly when you include paying down the pension liability.
Earlier this year, Sen. David Givens, a Greensburg Republican, tried to pass a bill that would require “fringe benefit costs” be included in the per-pupil totals of school funding. That would include the amount spent to pay down the unfunded teacher pension liabilities, teacher health insurance costs and more. The bill did not make final passage.
As per-pupil funding is currently calculated, the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy said the state would need to put in even more money each year — $1.3 billion — to return to the purchasing power of 2008 levels.
GOP House Speaker David Osborne of Prospect said in a statement that lawmakers have put “a record amount of funding and resources” into the public education system, but those investments have not paid dividends.
Kentucky test scores continue to lag and have not recovered from pandemic lows. More than 60% of Kentucky 4th grade students scored basic or below basic in reading and math, in the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress.
“Despite this, far too many Kentucky children don’t read or understand math at grade level,” Osborne said. “It is past time for the education bureaucracy to stop demanding more money and instead focus on the classroom and helping students reach their potential.”
Autumn Nagel, the president of the Kentucky Parent-Teacher Association, said education spending needs to go up to ensure equity across school districts and neighborhoods.
“We know Kentuckians believe in taking care of each other, especially our kids,” Nagel said. “The legislature now has that chance to show it by making our budget reflect our values, because what we fund is what we value.”
The $718 million figure may sound familiar to some Kentuckians — it is the same as the price tag attached to the half-point income tax reduction going into effect next year.
“It’s time to shift from prioritizing our wealthiest residents, who are the overwhelming beneficiaries of these tax cuts, and begin to put our kids first,” said Jason Bailey, the executive director of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.
The group did not specify how they hoped to see the $718 million distributed in the budget. Some suggested fully funding school transportation and increasing the base per-pupil allotment.
Joel Walford, an elementary school librarian from Russell County and the president of the Kentucky Education Association, suggested the infusion could assist school districts in hiring more teachers and help retain current staff. He said new funds would also allow them to hire more counselors and reduce class sizes.
“Nearly half of all districts don't even meet the recommended counselor to student ratio of one-to-250. That means that kids in crisis are waiting,” Walford said. “Teachers are stretched thin, and the supports that our communities are asking for simply aren't there.”
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
