FRANKFORT — The Republican-controlled state Senate passed bills Monday aimed at shining more light on school districts’ spending and shifting the balance of power in Kentucky’s largest school district.   The bills, considered top priorities by Senate Republicans, now head to the House, whi ch also has a GOP supermajority, for further consideration.  Senate Bill 1, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem David Givens, of Greensburg, mirrors a 2022 law deemed unconstitutional by the Kentucky Supreme Court that would shift powers from the Jefferson County Public Schools Board to the district’s superintendent. It passed by a vote of 29-7. Republican Sen. Michael Nemes, of Shepherdsville, voted with Democrats against the bill.  Senate Bill 3, sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, Smithfield, would require school districts to post various financial reports online as a means to increase transparency over public dollars following headlines of budget shortfalls in the state’s largest school districts, JCPS and Fayette County Public Schools. It passed by a vote of 35-1, with Sen. Jason Howell, R-Murray, as the lone vote against the bill.  The bill sponsors filed the legislation nearly two weeks ago. The bills are among a slate of priority education bills for the Senate Republican caucus this year.  On the Senate floor, Givens said SB 1 was necessary because lawmakers should treat JCPS, the state’s largest school district, differently than others. JCPS has more than 90,000 students. The next closest district in student population is FCPS with more than 40,000. The use of possible “special legislation,” or policies that affect a single local government agency or city, was a question in the Supreme Court case.  “I think it’s important for us to realize that not only are we given responsibility and authority, not only do we fund the operations of this district and other districts across the commonwealth, we have a moral and ethical responsibility to provide the best possible education for these future leaders and these future citizens of our commonwealth, and I’m confident that Senate Bill 1 enables a district of this size and scope to operate in a much more efficient way,” Givens said.  Democratic Floor Leader Sen. Gerald Neal said that he was critical of the district’s recent shortcomings, but added that he was encouraged about its future under Superintendent Brian Yearwood’s leadership. “I‘m a little concerned (about) when we push the board back, when actually we should be pushing the board forward. We want more accountability,” Neal said. “And particularly when we’re talking about people who are elected by our neighbors, the parents of our kids, people who are vested in our communities, we want them to be more involved in that situation of oversight. That’s where accountability comes from.”  While presenting SB 3, Tichenor said her legislation would allow the public greater access to how tax dollars are being spent by school districts statewide.  “The goal is simple — to ensure our education dollars are focused on student learning and student achievement,” Tichenor said. “Education money is ultimately for educating our students, and when monies are irresponsibly used elsewhere, once made transparent, a correction is needed.”  A floor amendment to SB 3 from Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, added that information about separation pay to superintendents be made public online as well.  Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Reggie Thomas, of Lexington said while voting in favor of SB 3 that he would still defend some spending by Fayette schools during the last school year to hire additional teachers. He added that when public dollars are being used, “we must have transparency and the public should weigh in on that.”  During a Senate Education Committee meeting last week, JCPS officials told lawmakers they opposed the shift in governance outlined in SB 1, but see SB 3 as a way to better hold them accountable. The post Two GOP priorities for public education advance from Kentucky Senate appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less