FRANKFORT, Ky. — Responding to the new governor’s overhaul of the state school board, the Kentucky Senate’s top leader introduced a bill aimed at blocking similar reorganizations from occurring again.
Senate President Robert Stivers said Tuesday that the measure would prevent future governors from such a sweeping reorganization of the board’s membership. It also would ensure political, gender and racial diversity on the board that oversees Kentucky’s K-12 education system, he said.
“I don’t know how you argue against the diversity of this,” Stivers, a Republican, told reporters. “It’s the way it should have been in the first place.”
On his first day in office in December, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear fulfilled a campaign pledge when he disbanded and then recreated the Kentucky Board of Education. Beshear had expressed concerns about the previous board’s affinity for charter schools.
All of the governor’s appointees were Democrats, which drew the ire of Republican lawmakers.
The legislation calls for “proportional representation” on the state school board based on voter registration numbers.
Under the bill, Beshear’s appointees would lose their seats but could be reconsidered for reappointment.
Beshear’s spokeswoman, Crystal Staley, said the current board “is the best qualified in recent memory.” Beshear used the same authority available to previous governors, she said.
