Lawrence County Schools will be in session on Friday, April 13th, Graduation day unchanged…
“Dr. Mark…
We will be sending a delegation of teachers to Frankfort to represent Lawrence County. On behalf of the staff members of our district, we sincerely thank the people of our community for their support, and we ask for continued support in days to come. We truly feel that this support is not only for us, but for all the students of Lawrence County. We also thank Senator Ray Jones, Representative Jill York, and all those that attended the rally on Wednesday evening.
To be clear, educators across the Commonwealth are not asking for “more.” When it comes to our retirement, we have asked only to keep what we were promised when we “signed on” to be educators.
Also, pay raises were never a topic for discussion during these rallies. When it comes to budgets, educators have asked state legislators to fund what we have had in the past. As it stands now, if the Governor’s budget bill veto is over-ridden, then our budgets will not include professional development (teacher training) funds, textbook funds, and would include cuts in other areas.
Also, we would have minimal increases in SEEK funding and FRYSC funding. If the Governor’s veto stands, then we potentially could lose more money in areas such as transportation, pre-school, FRYSC, etc.
In short, we are being asked to choose between bad and worse when it comes to the current budget bill and potential other options. Also, if the additional costs of classified employee retirement are not “phased-in,” then Lawrence County Schools will have to find $301,000 in our budget for 2018-2019 school year. The decisions of the Governor and some state legislators are forcing these costs to local boards of education and to the local tax payer.
Graduation is still set for Friday, May 18th. The last day of school for students will be Monday, May 21st.
Thank you for checking!
(SEE ADDITIONAL STORY FROM EDUCATORS SOON)
Robbie L. Fletcher, EdD
Superintendent, Lawrence County Schools
