FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) -A new bill in the Kentucky legislature would fundamentally change how school boards are structured across the state, tying the number of board members directly to student enrollment numbers.

Senate Bill 202, proposed by Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, (R) of Smithfield would require the Kentucky Board of Education to determine the necessary number of members for each school board based on average daily enrollment over the previous three years. The changes would take effect beginning in 2033.

Board sizes would vary by enrollment

Under the proposed legislation, districts would have different numbers of board members based on their size:

• Districts with 15,000 students or fewer would have five board members
• Districts with 15,001 to 30,000 students would have seven members
• Districts with 30,001 to 45,000 students would have nine members
• Districts with 45,001 to 60,000 students would have 11 members
• Districts with 60,001 to 75,000 students would have 13 members
• Districts with more than 75,001 students would have 15 members

The Kentucky Board of Education would make these determinations in the first four months of 2033 and every 10 years thereafter.

According to the Ky. Department of Education, Fayette County Public Schools had 40,792 students in the 2024-25 school year, so under this bill, the Fayette County Board of Education would increase from five to nine members.

Implementation timeline and process

The bill includes provisions for how the changes would be implemented. If a regular election occurs in the same year the determination is made, additional members would be selected during that election. If no regular election occurs, the additional positions would be considered vacancies and filled at the next regularly scheduled election.

For districts that need to reduce their board size, the reduction would happen by decreasing the number of members up for election at the next scheduled election.

Division requirements remain

County school districts would still need to divide into divisions for election purposes, with members elected from specific geographic areas. Independent school districts would continue electing members at-large.

The legislation requires county school boards to redraw their divisions within 30 days of receiving notice from the state board. The divisions must contain integral voting precincts and be as equal in population as practicable.

Immediate implementation provision

While the regular timeline calls for changes beginning in 2033, the bill includes a provision requiring the Kentucky Board of Education to make initial determinations by December 31, 2026. Districts required to add members would need to make division changes within 30 days, with new positions filled as appointed vacancies until the next regular election.

The bill also removes specific references to Jefferson County’s seven-member board structure that was established after the merger of Louisville city and county school systems.

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The No. 18 Kentucky Women’s Basketball team played one of its most complete games, swiftly handling No. 14 Ole Miss 74-57 in the cats penultimate home game of the 2025-26 regular season.

Clara Strack led the way, scoring 28 points and grabbing nine rebound. Asia Boone had 15 points. six rebounds and three assists. Tonie Morgan had 14 points and nine assists.

Kentucky shot 51% from the field while holding Ole Miss to 27% and 20% from behind the arc. The Wildcats also scored 22 points off of turnovers and used a 19-0 run in the second quarter to take full command of the game.

Ole Miss scored first, but Kentucky tied the game on two Strack free throws. Strack scored again to give UK its first lead, 4-2, but Ole Miss responded to tie the game. A Morgan layup and a Strack jumper gave the Cats a four-point lead, but Ole Miss hit a three to get within one.

Strack scored underneath and Jordan Obi scored in the lane to give UK a 12-7 lead. After two Ole Miss free throws, Morgan scored to again give the Cats a five-point lead. Ole Miss cut it to three but Boone hit a three late and Kentucky led 17-11 after one quarter.

The Rebels scored first in the second quarter but Amelia Hassett hit a three to give the Cats a 20-13 advantage. After two Ole Miss free throws, Boone hit a three from the corner and was fouled in the process. The four-point play gave Kentucky a 24-15 lead.

Obi scored on a pass from Morgan to extend the lead to 11 and force an Ole Miss timeout. Strack would score twice, and UK got threes from Boone, Hassett and Boone to complete a 19-0 run that gave Kentucky a 39-15 lead. The Rebels scored the last five points of the half, but the Cats held a commanding 39-20 lead at the break. Boone led all scorers with 13 in the first 20 minutes.

Ole Miss scored the first five points of the third quarter before Strack got the Cats on the board. The Rebels scored the next four before Strack hit two free throws to give UK a 43-29 lead. Ole Miss hit two free throws before Strack made two more to extend the lead to 45-31. Ole Miss made a free throw to cut the UK lead to 13.

Boone scored on a mid-range jumper, but the Rebels responded with a bucket on the other end. Morgan scored and Hassett hit a three to extend the UK lead to 52-34. The Rebels scored the next six before a Morgan three-point play stretched the UK lead to 55-40. Ole Miss scored just before the buzzer but Kentucky led 55-42 after three quarters.

Teonni Key made her first basket early in the fourth quarter but Ole Miss answered by scoring the next nine to cut the UK lead to 57-51 with 6:45 to play. Strack scored to stop the run, then scored six more in a row to give Kentucky a 65-51 lead. A Morgan basket extended the lead to 16 and completed a 10-0 run.

UK would lead by 19 late in the fourth quarter before settling for the 17-point victory.

Kentucky gets the midweek off and returns to action on Sunday, visiting Nashville to take on Vanderbilt. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.

Copyright 2026 WKYT. All rights reserved.

Two of Kentucky’s most prominent statewide officials differed on the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies during separate national TV appearances Feb. 15.

Before Gov. Andy Beshear criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union,” which came days after he called for the removal of ICE agents throughout the country, Attorney General Russell Coleman blasted Beshear’s positions in an interview with Fox News.

“My view as the chief law enforcement officer of this commonwealth, someone who’s carried a badge and a gun, someone’s who been a federal prosecutor, (is) that statement that the governor made, it was absurd,” Coleman said.

Coleman’s comments came in response to takes Beshear dished on ABC’s “The View” Feb. 9, in which the governor said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem should be fired and ICE “has to be reformed from the top down.” Beshear reiterated his stance when he went on camera again Feb. 15.

“ICE is out of control. They have an American body count,” Beshear said, in reference to the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. “… And their leadership attacks anyone involved in an altercation with ICE as a domestic terrorist before they even know the information. This is a group that thinks they can barge into an American’s home with an administrative warrant. We have to stand up (to ICE), and Democrats should be using their leverage to try to get reform and retraining.”

Beshear’s past comments about ICE have drawn widespread backlash from Republicans, including from ICE officials who fired back on social media. In the days since Beshear first offered his stance, however, Trump administration officials ended an immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, where as many as 3,000 agents were stationed. The shootings of Good and Pretti and the detention of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos during “Operation Metro Surge” sparked protests throughout the country, including in Louisville.

In his interview with Fox News, Coleman said “ICE is a great partner on many fronts” and there are “safer communities every day” because of ICE’s enforcement actions.

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“I would encourage the governor to look around here in the commonwealth, because of the collaboration ― federal, state and local. ICE has been present here, the Department of Homeland Security … is a great partner. They’re out there every day making us safer, going after violent offenders. To eliminate them as a partner would make us less safe,” Coleman said.

The Courier Journal found at least 25 Kentucky law enforcement agencies have partnered with ICE as part of the 287(g) program, which allows allows state and local agencies to perform limited immigration enforcement functions under the oversight of ICE, including making arrests, serving warrants and identifying people without legal documentation who are housed within detention centers.

Courier Journal reporters Keely Doll, Marina Johnson, Katie Muchnick and Caroline Neal contributed. Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@usatodayco.com or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter