When Gov. Matt Bevin unveiled his proposal for the state’s next budget Tuesday night, lawmakers agreed with his decision to make fully funding pensions a top priority but expressed concern about how forthcoming financial cuts will affect Kentucky’s public schools.
Bevin’s two-year, 2018-20 budget would hit most government agencies with an across-the-board, 6.25 percent cutand invest about $3.3 billion in Kentucky’s severely underfunded pension plans. Seventy programs also would be eliminated statewide, although the governor did not specify which were on the chopping block during his speech on Tuesday.
“That’s what it’s going to take to balance our budget. We don’t have any alternative,” Bevin said. “These are the times that try men’s souls.”
House Speaker Pro Tem David Osborne, R-Prospect, said he doesn’t yet know which 70 programs the governor suggested for elimination, but he supports taking a more targeted approach toward shrinking the state’s expenses.
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“I think it is a positive step that we are targeting where these reductions will be as opposed to just broad-brush, across-the-board cuts,” Osborne said.
The governor wants to preserve the current level of Kentucky’s K-12 education funding formula, which is known as SEEK and totals $3,981 per student. But he cautioned that cuts to districts’ administrative overhead costs are on the horizon.
Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said he agrees more education dollars should be used in the classroom rather than in a central office.
And Sen. Damon Thayer, the Senate’s majority floor leader, described Bevin’s budget proposal as “sobering” but is pleased it avoids cuts to the SEEK formula.
“If we’re able to do that, it’s a victory,” said Thayer, a Georgetown Republican.
However, House Minority Leader Rocky Adkins, D-Sandy Hook, said he is concerned about the reductions Bevin wants when it comes to districts’ administrative expenses as well as their transportation-related funding.
“It’s really important that we have quality administrators,” he said.
And Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Ben Self expressed concerns about how Bevin’s proposal could hurt Kentucky schools.
“He knew last year his budget was flawed with a $156 million shortfall, but instead of fixing the fundamental issues facing our state, he chose to play politics and cripple our state further by defunding critical elements of our public school system —transportation, textbook money, professional development and a capped health coverage for teachers,” Self said. “We need a budget that fully funds our public education system, and doesn’t gut it as the governor has proposed.”
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Bevin’s proposed budget for 2018-20 — a final version of which the legislature must approve — isn’t solely composed of cuts, though.
It would devote an extra $24 million toward raising salaries for social workers and hiring new ones and would put $34 million in new money toward fighting substance abuse and the growing opioid epidemic. It also would fund 75 new positions for county and commonwealth attorneys as well as 51 additional public advocates to help strengthen Kentucky’s criminal justice system.
Adkins said he thinks he and his fellow Democrats will work in a bipartisan fashion to support some priorities the governor mentioned, such as fighting the opioid crisis.
Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said his organization was pleased to see Bevin’s budget increases spending on child welfare and social services, and is particularly pleased that it would restore funding for Kinship Care, a program that helps pay relatives who care for children who were removed from homes because of abuse or neglect.
The program has been closed to new applicants since 2013 because of a budget shortfall despite a growing number of relatives caring for such children, many of them grandparents living on fixed incomes and struggling financially.
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Brooks called the proposal “a vital step forward” for Kentucky children.
Sen. Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, said it’s vital to ensure the state government is funding education and healthcare as well as fulfilling its promises on pensions.
“The budget isn’t just a policy document. It’s a moral document,” he said.
And now, that document is in the hands of legislators, who in the coming weeks will debate what changes should be made to Bevin’s proposal before they approve a final version of the state’s next budget.
Reporter Deborah Yetter contributed to this story.Morgan Watkins: 502-582-4502; mwatkins@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @morganwatkins26. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/morganw.
