LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A state takeover of Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) is once again on the table.
In an interview with WHAS11 News Senior Reporter Isaiah Kim-Martinez, Senate President Robert Stivers said the takeover is one alternative solution that the Republicans are looking at to potentially fix the problems within JCPS.
"Governance, division, additional mandates and criteria on them...there's more than one way," he said.
The word "governance" refers to a state take over.
It's a concept that has not been brought up since 2018 under former Gov. Matt Bevin's administration.
"It's on the periphery, on the periphery," Stivers said. "Not a leading alternative, but it's an alternative."
JCPS entered a lengthy battle in 2018 under Bevin's administration when a potential takeover was first being pushed. The four-month long give-and-take ended when the Kentucky Board of Education voted against it.
Former JCPS School Board Member Sam Corbett said he was "stunned" to hear a takeover was back as an option.
"In my 30-plus-years of being engaged with JCPS in various ways, I saw more community interest, more community concern, more community conversation around that issue than any other issue in that 30 year history," Corbett said. "Obviously, everybody had an opinion on if the state should takeover, should they not takeover. It was somewhat divisive in the community because people had very strong feelings on both sides of the issue So, to introduce that concept again…we’ll have to see what happens.”
Corbett remained a skeptic that this alternative would benefit the school district.
“JCPS has a lot of challenges, they have a lot of problems, they’ve got to fix the transportation issue; but, a potential takeover or a breakup, in my opinion, is not the answer to the problem," he said. "Pres. Stivers is a very influential, very good legislator. For him to throw that out, really sends a message to me.”
Corbett emphasized that the challenges within JCPS won't be solved solely on an internal level.
“The people within JCPS, the leadership, the administration, the elected school board, need to recognize they’ve got challenges, they’ve got problems – then in turn, reach out to the community and ask the rest of us to help them," he said.
Brent McKim, the president of the Jefferson County Teachers Association (JCTA) told WHAS11 News the association stands with the superintendent, and does not believe a state takeover of JCPS would be in the best interest of students.
WHAS11 has reached out to JCPS for comment.
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