Kentucky Kids Demand Funding for Schools
Students say school funding in the Commonwealth is neither adequate nor equitable
Kentucky students aren’t having it.
Instead of accepting under-resourced schools and a growing teacher shortage, a group of high school students in the Bluegrass State is taking action.
The Kentucky Student Voice Team (KSVT) filed a lawsuit this week alleging the state is failing to live up to its constitutional obligation to fund “adequate and equitable” public schools for all kids.
“The Kentucky Constitution guarantees every student the right to a quality public education,” said Khoa Ta, a policy coordinator for the Kentucky Student Voice Team and a junior from Daviess County High School. “This right was clarified in the 1989 Rose v. Council for Better Education decision. But today, the legacy of Rose is wilted as its promises have gone unfulfilled for far too many Kentucky students.”
The students aren’t just asking for funding. They are highlighting areas where Kentucky schools fall short and demanding accountability from the lawmakers who allowed the situation to fester.
In an email, the group points out specific areas where they believe the state is falling short:
Declining literacy skills: Only 41% of Kentucky 8th graders are proficient or above in reading. (2023-24 Kentucky Summative Assessment)
Lack of civics education: Kentucky is one of just 11 states without a civics course requirement, leaving students unprepared to engage in government processes and civic life. (2023 Committee for Economic Development)
Mental health crises: In 2023, nearly 1 in 5 (18.6%) of Kentucky high school students reported seriously considering taking their own lives. (Kentucky Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2023) Yet many Kentucky schools lack adequate counseling resources, with some schools having no counselors at all.
Limited Arts Availability:18.5% of Kentucky schools report offering no visual or performing arts class of any kind. (2023 Kentucky School Report Card)
Severe academic disparities: There are vast differences in achievement between Kentucky districts, in many cases of over 70 percentage points. (2023 Kentucky School Report Card)
Additionally, in the legal complaint, the group highlights the need for additional funding, pointing to areas where current funding levels are not meeting existing needs:
In 1990, the state paid about 75% of total state-wide education costs and local districts paid approximately 25%. By 2022, the state share declined to below 50% of total statewide education spending.
Another problem schools face is that, while KRS 157.370 requires the General Assembly to reimburse school districts for the “the average cost per pupil per day of transporting pupils” plus depreciation costs each year, every year since 2004 the General Assembly has suspended the implementation of this statute and has failed to fully fund transportation costs. For the current school year, transportation is being reimbursed to school districts at a rate of about 74% of the statutorily required amount.
The SEEK formula is based primarily on the guaranteed base amount per pupil established annually by the General Assembly. In 1990-91, the base amount per pupil was $2,305, the equivalent of $5,556 in 2024, adjusted for inflation. The actual base amount that the General Assembly established for the schools in 2024-2025 was $4,200, 24% below where it should have been to retain the original SEEK base funding levels. In short, the General Assembly has allowed inflation to drastically reduce actual base funding for education.
The inadequate level of state aid to education is a major cause of Kentucky’s exceptionally low teacher salary level, which is the prime cause of the teacher shortages, teacher turnover, and low teacher quality.
A recent study released by the Kentucky Center on Economic Policy corroborates the claim that the state is not adequately funding teacher compensation:
This school year, average district pay for Kentucky teachers is $13,888 less than 2008 once adjusted for inflation, according to new data from the Kentucky Department of Education. That’s a 19.8% decline.
This dramatic reduction in real pay comes despite average pay for teachers in 77% of Kentucky’s school districts slightly rising above inflation this school year. Statewide, average teacher pay rose an inflation-adjusted $908 this year, which amounts to a 1.6% increase.
The meat of the lawsuit seems to suggest a need for an increase in state funds of at least 25% over current levels.
The KCEP analysis seems to agree:
The long-term erosion in state funding for local schools — despite a constitutional mandate that makes public education a state responsibility — is the major cause of declining real teacher pay. Years of stagnant funding means that base SEEK (the core funding formula for public education) will be an inflation-adjusted 26% less in 2025 than it was in 2008.
Gov. Andy Beshear has proposed boosting teacher pay, but the General Assembly has so far failed to take his suggestion.
The lawsuit in Kentucky is a first step, the students say. Now, they will hold conversations across the Commonwealth to talk about a path forward.
Of course, the General Assembly, currently in session, could take steps to address some of these concerns this year.
Recent history makes that seem unlikely. It is possible, though, that just like 36 years ago, Kentucky could be court-ordered into another round of significant investment in (and reform of) public schools.
Good work covering these brave students!
Yay student leadership! Thank you for amplifying their work!