Hundreds of teachers in Knox County and the surrounding area continue to show their disgust with the recent proposal by Governor Matt Bevin and the legislatures who are proposing a cut in teacher pensions. Teachers protested on Friday, March 16 before school started for the day by handing out literature to parents as they dropped off their kids for school.
The literature stated that keeping a well-funded pension system for teachers and state employees mean that the state could continue to recruit and retain the best and brightest teachers and public servants. It will assure veteran teachers who lead their schools will stay in the classroom and not be forced to retire and our local counties will continue to maintain their current level of economic benefits from retiree pensions.
They stressed that they are not just fighting for current, past, and future teachers but are also fighting for your children and the future of education in Kentucky.
Some of the things that may be affected if the bill passes include a teacher shortage, larger class sizes, fewer school resource officers, reduced transportation and fewer instructional resources just to name a few.
What you can do?
Call the legislative hotline at 1-800-372-7181 and tell your legislators that you are a proud parent of the Kentucky Public Education System and that you want them to fully fund public education. Tell them to vote No on SB1!!
On Sunday, March 18 the protests continued in Pineville as teachers from Knox, Bell and Harlan met with Senator Brandon Smith and Representative Rick Nelson both who represent the Bell County District. Senator Smith told the large crowd that filled the Bell Theater that even though Senate Bill 1 appears to be dead, the fight is not over. He stated that it would take a collaborative effort to make sure that funding is secure.
You can can see his complete comments here:
