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Don’t Be Rhode Island

Last year Diane Bucci, the legislative committee chair for the Rhode Island Teachers Association, told Roll Call: “If you’re connected with billionaires, how do you look at a pension fund? Do you look at people on a fixed income? Or do you look at your friends who can make money from the investments?” Why am I talking about Rhode Island? Well, Governor Matt Bevin would have you believe that turning Kentucky’s pensions into 401(k)s would save the state money. That’s what voters in Rhode Island thought, too — until they found out differently. In 2010,…

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Well Kept Secrets Regarding the Pension Crisis in Kentucky

Edward Seidle is hailed as hero in Rhode Island for uncovering corruption, however, his findings from 2013 and 2014 gained no traction in Kentucky. Why is that?   Especially considering national news picked it up: https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsiedle/2013/08/08/kentucky-fried-pensions/#20cf1f3d4470 https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsiedle/2013/01/23/kentucky-retirement-system-whistleblower-gives-unite-here-union-report-to-sec/#7e9073ea1750 https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsiedle/2014/11/21/kentucky-teachers-sue-retirement-system-over-secretive-alternative-investments/#b0d742a3cce0 Maybe there was something in this report that would have disrupted their ability to solicit funding from Wall Street? https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2112594

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Protect Our SBDM Power

Some groups are advocating to strip our SBDM decision-making power away. This could happen during the next legislative session. How can you help keep SBDM power at the local school level? Join our SBDM Support Group on Facebook Email Education Committee Members Support SOSKY so you can stay informed Thank you!  

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A Parent’s Voice on SBDMs

A letter from an SBDM parent representative: Representative Carney, Senator Wilson, and Education Committee Members, Well, we find ourselves in the unfortunate position of discussing another attempt to remove parent power from…

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The Unintended Consequences of HB520

The House Committee Substitute version that is now in the Senate Education Committee takes away from local elected school boards both the resources and control over decisions about the needs and goals of public education.  However, contrary to the bill’s stated purpose it does not, in exchange, mandate ”exceptional” educational outcomes compared to what the local district  is currently experiencing. Overall, education uses a major portion of our state and county budgets. Any bill must clearly lay out how charter schools--a major shift in Kentucky public education--will be done while protecting the financial viability of…