For Immediate Release
July 9, 2002
Contact: Rusty Cheuvront or Terry Sebastian (502) 564-2611 

GOVERNOR MEETS WITH SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS
CALLS FOR STATEWIDE EDUCATION SUMMIT

Frankfort, KY – At the request of Governor Paul Patton a meeting was held this morning with Commissioner Gene Wilhoit, Kentucky Department of Education; Grover Canty, Ohio Co. Superintendent and President of the Association of School Superintendents; Jack Moreland, Covington Independent Superintendent and President of the Council on Better Education; and Leon Mooneyhan, Shelby Co. Superintendent, a representative of the Superintendents Advisory Council, to discuss the short term financing and long term program needs of our K-12 education system. 

An agreement was reached that a statewide “Education Summit” would be held on July 30, 2002 in Frankfort to assess and evaluate the progress made at KERA’s halfway point and to determine what challenges face the continued success of Kentucky’s education reform movement. “The success of KERA has and will continue to be an integral component of our Commonwealth’s ability to compete on equal footing with other states as well as providing the type of opportunities the citizens of Kentucky deserve,” Patton said. 

Governor Patton also announced that he would not utilize the surplus flexible spending plan funds to help balance the FY’02 budget. “The Superintendents convinced me that despite to my stated goal, K-12 did suffer a budget reduction in current year as a result of a higher average daily attendance and transportation costs than anticipated,” Patton said. “Allowing our schools to keep the surplus flex spending funds restores this reduction and ensures that education does not incur a budget cut.” 

“Kentucky’s school districts appreciate the short-term relief provided by the Governor’s decision today,” Commissioner Wilhoit said. “In addition, we applaud the Governor on his continued commitment to the long-term success of education in our state.” 

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