Kentucky House Republicans on Tuesday unveiled a spending bill aimed at boosting education funding and tapping into budget reserves, pumping more money into public pensions and infrastructure projects.
The two-year budget plan submitted to the House does not guarantee raises for teachers and other public school employees. It also doesn't include state funding that provides access to preschool for every 4-year-old in Kentucky. Both were cornerstones of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's budget plan.
Instead, House Republicans' budget proposal calls for significant additional funding for K-12 schools (known as SEEK) and student transportation, the state's main funding formula. There is. Republican House Speaker David Osborne said the House plan would include language that would send a “very strong message to administrators that school employees deserve and need raises.”
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“So we fully expect and anticipate that school administrators will compensate teachers accordingly,” Osborne told reporters.
The House version would leave it up to local school districts to decide whether to use additional state funds to pay raises for teachers and other employees. The amount of salary increases will also be determined by local governments. Republicans say they followed the same path two years ago, with most districts enacting increases.
Mr. Beshear proposed an 11% raise for teachers and all other public school employees. His plan also included an annual budget of $172 million to provide preschool to all of his 4-year-olds in Kentucky. He said the state's low starting and average teacher salaries rank negatively on its ability to attract and retain educators.
Kentucky State Capitol (April 7, 2021, Frankfort, Kentucky). On January 16, 2024, Kentucky Republicans proposed a spending plan aimed at increasing funding for education and using reserve funds for public pensions and infrastructure projects. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)
“When you look at the problem, teacher pay is also a problem, and we want to make sure that any solution resolves it,” the governor said recently. “So if we really want to fix the problem, we need to do both the amount we need for raises for teachers, but we also need to adequately fund other parts of education.”
Leading Republican lawmakers support aiding the state's struggling child care sector. The House plan includes additional funding to maintain higher reimbursements for providers.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jason Petrie introduced both bills on the 10th day of this year's 60-day session. One bill would fund most state government operations for the next two years. The other would leverage the state's vast budget to make one-time investments targeted at public pensions, infrastructure, public safety and economic development.
Work on the state's flagship policy document, the next two-year budget, will take up much of the session. If the House passes the plan, the Senate will have influence over spending policy. Negotiators in each chamber will ultimately resolve any differences. Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers.
Republican leaders say the state's major budget proposal, House Bill 6, also includes strategic investments in public safety, infrastructure and health services.
“HB6 continues our commitment to invest in our commonwealth’s future while prioritizing responsible spending aimed at allocating resources efficiently while preserving critical public services,” Petrie said. Ta. “This approach has worked well for us, allowing us to provide needed services to Kentuckians while building a historic amount of budget reserve trusts to address our state's debt and obligations.”
The House Republican plan calls for more raises for state police troopers and more jobs for social workers, as the governor has also proposed.
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As for higher education, the House Republican bill includes $600 million over two years for campus facility maintenance, renovations and repairs.
Another bill announced Tuesday, House Bill 1, would leverage some of the state's large budget reserves to make one-time investments totaling more than $1.7 billion in infrastructure, public safety, and economic development. , to help repay the unfunded liability of public pension systems. .
A portion of the funds will be used to prepare sites for drinking water and wastewater projects, as well as economic development projects. Both were priorities for Beshear, too.
“We have made savings a top priority and the Budget Reserve Trust Fund now exists to ensure the state is not only ready to take advantage of opportunities, but also to prepare the state for difficult times. '' Petrie said.
