Ky. education reform fails

During my 21 years in Kentucky, I have heard much about how the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 and the Postsecondary Education Improvement Act of 1997 contribute to education improvement.

The overall goal of the acts was to create the foundation for economic development.

Despite their good intentions, the objectives have not been achieved because of the action and inaction of the governors and members of the General Assembly to exercise the political will to revise and restructure the commonwealth’s archaic tax system to provide the necessary funding.

Sanity must be brought to the Kentucky tax system. There are needs in the state that are not being met because of annual and sometimes semi-annual budget cuts.

I realize that legislatures pass legislation that governors sign. In many cases, lobbyists write that legislation. Government ethics offices are notoriously ineffective. Change can only be achieved through the ballot box, which is difficult, if not impossible, in Kentucky.

If possible, every former and sitting Kentucky governor and legislator should be indicted for nonfeasance, misfeasance and malfeasance.

Gov. Matt Bevin and the General Assembly must act to restructure the tax and pension systems if Kentucky is going to progress into the 21st century.

This story was originally published January 31, 2018 at 7:24 PM with the headline "Ky. education reform fails."