FRANKFORT — Gov. Andy Beshear is authorizing $14.7 million to cover part of a $40 million state funding shortfall facing Kentucky public schools.
The Democratic governor announced during his weekly press conference that he is granting a request from Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher for additional SEEK funds, or Support Education Excellence in Kentucky, to cover the statutorily required $14.7 million the current budget is expected to miss.
With Fletcher present, Beshear said he was “excited to remove this pending burden on our public schools.” The governor also said he hoped he could do more for schools in the future, such as his long-standing proposal to increase school employees’ salaries and implement universal pre-K programs statewide. The amount he authorized was the most he could do under past budget legislation.
“We were able to get the final numbers earlier than originally expected, which allows us to fill this budget hole so that our schools can plan appropriately,” Beshear said. “So to all of our public educators — we care about you, we love you, and we need you.”
Fletcher released a memo last month that said the Kentucky Department of Education is predicting a funding shortfall of about $40 million in the 2024-25 academic year, after “a detailed review of preliminary data.” The $14.7 million request is part of that number. The remaining amount are funds designated for local school districts if available.
Fletcher said he and Kentucky’s public schools appreciated the governor’s authorization. He also added that he and KDE would continue to discuss possible future funding with lawmakers, depending on the availability of funds.
“This action demonstrates what can be achieved for public schools and our students through collaborative efforts,” Fletcher said.
The SEEK formula determines state funding to local school districts. It has a base per-pupil funding allocation, along with additional funding for factors like transportation costs or the number of students in a district who qualify for additional resources like special education, free or reduced-price meals and English language assistance.
KDE officials appeared before a House committee this week and said the estimates were made in fall of 2023. There, they said if no action was taken, the $14.7 million would come out of monthly payments given to school districts between April and June. The required $14.7 million is about 0.5% of the $2.7 billion appropriated for schools through SEEK.
Last week, Republican House Speaker David Osborne, of Prospect, reiterated comments he made after KDE raised the alarm on a possible SEEK funding shortfall. Osborne said it was a “disturbing trend” to “continue to see bad information and bad data.” He added that it has been “several years now that we have seen inaccurate information.”
This article is republished under a Creative Commons license from Kentucky Lantern, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter.
McKenna Horsley covers state politics for the Kentucky Lantern. She previously worked for newspapers in Huntington, West Virginia, and Frankfort, Kentucky. She is from northeastern Kentucky.
