Unemployment fell from 2020 to 2021 in every Kentucky counties

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2 years ago

April 19, 2022

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Unemployment fell from 2020 to 2021 in every Kentucky counties | WHOP 1230 AM | News Radio

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Kentucky’s primary election less than a week away

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2 hours ago

May 15, 2024

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Kentucky’s primary election less than a week away

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — With less than a week until Kentucky’s primary election, civic groups like the Louisville League of Women Voters are encouraging everyone to get out and vote.

What You Need To Know

Kentucky’s primary election is Tuesday, May 21

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In-person, no-excuse early voting can be done between May 16-18

Primaries in Kentucky are closed, meaning voters can only choose candidates from their registered party of choice

Ahead of this year’s primary, the league has hosted several candidate forums in Louisville. They covered both Metro Council and state office races.

It’s one way the nonpartisan organization has worked to inform voters about the upcoming election.

Dee Pregliasco is the current president of the Louisville League of Women Voters. (Spectrum News 1/Mason Brighton)

“We don’t support parties,” said Dee Pregliasco, president of the Louisville League of Women Voters. “We don’t support candidates. Just trying to sort of raise people’s awareness of voting.”

Recently volunteers also went door to door in parts of the county to inform people of the primary.

Pregliasco highlighted the importance of being an informed voter and said just one vote can still make a difference.

“One of our former governors won his primary by 87 votes; that’s not a lot of votes,” Pregliasco said. “So it’s really, really important.”

Secretary of State Michael Adams, R-Ky., said he predicted low voter turnout, around 10-15%. Still, he encouraged everyone to get out and do their civic duty.

“You have people who say, ‘Well, I don’t want to go, and I don’t have time to do all that,’” Pregliasco said. “But if you ask them what they care about, they sometimes can give you a long list, and all of those things are affected by who we put into office.”

This year, the entire state House of Representatives and half of the state Senate are up for reelection. Several races only have candidates from one party, meaning whoever wins May 21 will punch their ticket to Frankfort.

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Kentucky superintendents hear about recent budget legislation, summer food program during webcast

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9 hours ago

May 14, 2024

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Kentucky superintendents hear about recent budget legislation, summer food program during webcast

Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) staff discussed budgetary legislation from the 2024 legislative session during the Superintendents Webcast on May 14.

The main budget bill, House Bill 6, included money for school resource officers (SROs): $16.5 million in 2024-2025 and $18 million in 2025-2026. Associate Commissioner Matt Ross in the KDE Office of Finance and Operations said KDE will reimburse school districts up to $20,000 for each campus employing at least one on-site full-time certified school resource officer.

If funds are insufficient, the money will be divided proportionally through a system Ross said is still being developed by KDE.

Senate Bill (SB) 91 aims to provide relief to districts experiencing real estate growth and a potential cut in funding through the Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) funding formula. Chay Ritter, division director in the KDE Office of Finance and Operations, said KRS 157.360(17) – which is known as the “4% adjusted assessment rule” – already allows for some relief, and SB 91 would be in addition to that relief.

Ritter said the bill is specific to real property assessments only – not the assessment used for SEEK calculations – and multiple qualifying events must occur for a district to qualify. Funds must also be available in the SEEK budget appropriation in order for districts to receive the relief.

To qualify for the 2024-2025 school year, districts and their boards:

Must have qualified in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 for the 4% adjusted assessment;
Must levy the 4% tax rate or greater in 2024-2025; and
Must have experienced a cumulative growth in real estate assessments from fiscal year 2022-2023 to 2024-2025 of more than 14.4%. KDE will adjust local effort specific to real property for growth above 14.4%.

For the 2025-2026 school year, districts and their boards:

Must have qualified in 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 for the 4% adjusted assessment;
Must levy the 4% tax rate or greater in 2025-2026; and
Must have experienced a cumulative growth in real estate assessments from fiscal year 2022-2023 to 2025-2026 of more than 25.8%. KDE will adjust local effort specific to real property for growth above 25.8%.

Ritter said KDE is working on how the reporting and notification portion of the bill will be conveyed to districts. He expects if a district qualifies for the funding, payment will not occur until the SEEK final calculation that occurs on March 1 each year.

Another piece of legislation, House Bill 727, allows local boards of education to issue general obligation bonds up to 2% of their assessed property value. The bonds must be issued through a competitive solicitation process.

Ross said KDE is working with the School Facilities Construction Commission and the Kentucky Office of Financial Management on guidance for districts to break down the legislation and its potential pitfalls.

KDE staff has created legislative guidance to help school leaders navigate other recent legislation. Overall legislative guidance for the 2024 Regular Session is now available on the KDE Legislative Guidance webpage. Supplemental guidance is also available for:

Brian Perry, director of government relations for KDE, said there may be additional supplemental guidance coming from KDE.

Summer Electronic Benefits Program

Superintendents heard from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) about the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (SEBT) program.

SEBT is a permanent federal child nutrition program offering benefits to students from eligible families to help cover the cost of meals during the summer when schools are not in session.

More than 400,000 students are expected to receive SEBT in 2024. A total of $48 million has been issued in 2024 and each eligible student will receive a summer benefit of $120.

The following students are considered eligible for SEBT benefits:

School-aged students (ages 6 to 18 as of Aug. 1, 2023) who have taken part in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program (KTAP), and/or Kinship Care for at least one month since July 1, 2023, will automatically receive benefits.
Families of school-aged students that do not fall into the above category but are within the guided income eligibility limits, can apply for SEBT benefits online.

CHFS Program Coordinator Jessica Hinkle said district support is critical to get students enrolled. Each school district must compile a file of all enrolled students to the secure SEBT portal starting this month. A specific Excel template will be offered to districts and Hinkle said a training session for SEBT administrators will be offered June 4.

Hinkle said any information on Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer materials that districts have online should be taken down. She also said a media toolkit will be provided to administrators for use on websites, social media platforms, newsletters and other communications.

Administrators should email SEBTschooladmin@ky.gov if they have any SEBT data-related questions.

In other business, KDE staff updated superintendents on:

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Kentucky Gains Commitment From Winter Juniors Qualifier Charlotte Driesse (2025)

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16 hours ago

May 14, 2024

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Kentucky Gains Commitment From Winter Juniors Qualifier Charlotte Driesse (2025)

Fitter and Faster Swim Camps is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.

Charlotte Driesse has announced her verbal commitment to continue her education and swimming career at the University of Kentucky. Driesse is from St. Augustine, Florida, where she attends Nease High School and swims for Loggerhead Aquatics. She’s currently a junior, and will arrive on campus next fall ahead of the 2025-2026 season.

“I am extremely excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my athletic and academic career at the University of Kentucky!!! Huge shoutout to God, my amazing family, friends, and coaches for all of their continuous support. I also want to thank all the coaches over at UK for this opportunity. GO WILDCATS!!”

Driesse is a Winter Juniors qualifier in the 500 free, 200m IM, 200m free, and 100m free, as well as holds Futures qualifying times across the sprint free and butterfly events. She is also a two-time Florida High School State Champion in the 200 IM (3A), most recently winning the event with a time of 2:03.13 this past fall.

Driesse has since lowered her best time in the 200 IM to 2:02.72 to take 6th at the Florida Spring Senior Championships. She also notched a personal best in the 200 free with a time of 1:49.81, good for 13th overall.

Driesse got an early start to her long course season this spring at the Southern Zone Senior Championships. She dropped nearly three seconds in the 400m free (4:27.96) en route to a 15th place finish, while in the 200m IM she knocked off almost a second to clock a 2:21.41 and finish 5th. Her 400 IM was her top finish of the meet, as she stopped the clock in a personal best of 5:03.77 for 4th.

Top SCY Times

200 free – 1:49.81
500 free – 4:53.22
100 fly – 55.17
200 fly – 2:02.95
200 IM – 2:02.72
400 IM – 4:24.09

Kentucky is currently led by head coach Bret Lundgaard, who took over the program this past summer. At this year’s SEC Championships, the women finished 9th out of 12 teams, with a total of 446 points. Driesse will likely have some choices to make when it comes to her lineup at Kentucky, but based on this year’s results she’s closest to scoring range in the 200 IM.

Anna Havens Rice was the team’s top finisher this year at SECs, as she recorded a 1:58.38 to take 13th overall. She was joined in the B-final by her teammate Torie Buerger, who finished 16th with a 2:00.07 in finals. Both Rice and Buerger will no longer be on campus when Driesse arrives.

With her commitment, Driesse joins Sarah Shaffer, Eli Summa, Julia Shafer, Cassidy Allison, Lucy Trailov, Kelsey Stuck, and Arianna Wertheim in Kentucky’s future class of 2029.

If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].

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