Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday says teachers could faces layoffs and school districts could fail financially if education funding is not restored.
Holliday has pushed lawmakers to restore per-pupil funding levels to pre-recession levels. That request is more than $250 million dollars for the two-year budget that lawmakers will set when they return next year. Holliday calls the federal and state budget cuts and other obligations a perfect storm, and he says by next spring the education department predicts up to a dozen school districts will fail to meet their basic financial commitments. Holliday says if funding isn’t restored, "we will see pink slips like we’ve never seen before." A majority of school boards have also passed resolutions requesting more funds. The education department will be competing with other state departments all strapped for cash.
