Ky. Senate bill may weaken school councils

A bill was introduced to the Kentucky Senate in early 2019 that would give more authority to the superintendent and the school board by weakening the authority given to the council of teachers and parents at each school.

The Act Relating to School Councils (Senate Bill 3) provides the superintendent with the authority to hire a school’s principal with “consultation” from the council, as well as grants the school board the authority to decide a council’s discussion topics for meetings.

Currently, the school councils have the authority to select the building principal, though the superintendent or his or her designee does get to serve as chair of the committee and enjoy full voting rights during the selection process.

The number of teacher representatives would also be reduced by one for the purpose of providing equal parent and teacher representation within the council.

Supporters of the bill contend that it is necessary to better balance authority between school boards and school-based councils while critics say that the changes are unneeded and it will only push the effectiveness of schools backwards rather than furthering it.

The bill itself was proposed and sponsored by Kentucky State Sen. John Schickel, who said in a press release the reduction in the number of teacher representatives in the council would increase the parental voice in decision making for individual schools.

Schickel, who represents Boone County, also suggested that not much would change.

“Councils would continue to set all the policies they do now, and the principal would be bound to implement them, just as they are now,” he is quoted as saying in the press release.

The Kentucky Education Association does not support the changes that Senate Bill 3 would bring to the council as a whole.

English teacher Kelly Read is a member of the Kentucky Educatoin Association, and he agreed that the changes in the bill were unneeded and that the bill should better clarify the meaning of certain terms such as consultation.

Read also stated that decreasing the number of teacher representatives would not raise the parent’s voice in the council, which is a common point made among the bill’s critics.

Both supporters of the bill and the bill’s critics had one common opinion, the bill will not affect student life much.

Senate Bill 3 was approved by the Kentucky State Senate by a 23-13 vote on Jan. 11.

The story will develop as the bill continues to be reviewed within the Kentucky State House of Representatives.