FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky’s education commissioner says proposed state budget cuts will hit school districts hard and could leave the most hard-pressed districts broke.
Commissioner Stephen Pruitt told a House budget subcommittee Wednesday that some districts are operating “paycheck to paycheck.” Pruitt later told reporters that if proposed cuts aren’t restored, some districts could slip into insolvency.
Education officials say districts that are struggling the most have been hit by sharp declines in enrollment, property tax collections and revenue from taxes on unmined coal.
Gov. Matt Bevin has proposed a budget that would shift millions of dollars in transportation and health insurance costs to school districts and eliminate state funding for several programs. Bevin’s proposal does not cut funding for students.
Pruitt says he’s hopeful some of the proposed cuts will be restored.