I know in advance, what I am about to type, is going to get me into hot water wtih some, but here it goes anyway. :scared:

 

I personally think the Independent schools in Kentucky are no different than the Private Schools except that they get to use public tax funds. I will use Ludlow as an example as I grew up very near there. The good people of the City of Ludlow paid for the school to be independent, but as expenses have increased and the community of Ludlow has changed, the cost of running their independent school has outstripped the City’s ability to fully pay for it. So along with other independent schools and poorer school districts they sued the Commonwealth to better fund their schools at the expense of larger and richer school districts (not that I agree or disagree with the law just stating fact). So now the Independent School of Ludlow is not only funded by the City and its tax base, but they are also funded in large part by the people of the Commonwealth.

 

Now how are the two alike? Well the Ludlow Board of Education is made up entirely of citizens of Ludlow, who do what they think is best for their constituents, ditto for the private schools. They are required to follow the rules of the State Board of Education, but pretty much have a free rein how to live within those guideline, same for the Private schools. The Independent school of Ludlow doesn’t have to take anyone outside the border of the City of Ludlow and neither do the private schools have to take everyone. Now the big difference, the parents of the children who attend the private schools pay for what it costs to attend their school, while the Independent School of Ludlow receives a rather large subsidy from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Now could the good citizens of Ludlow send their children to the Kenton County School system if they chose to close their school system? Of course! Would it cost them any more? Probably not, but like the private school parent the good people of Ludlow choose to have their own school system, but unlike the private school parents they have others foot the bill for what they can’t afford to have.

 

The Boone County School District receives a much smaller percentage of tax dollars back from the Commonwealth from what they send down to Frankfort each year, compared to what the Independent School District of Ludlow sends down and receives back and Boone is growing by leaps and bounds while Ludlow’s growth is rather small if at all. Why the difference in funding for an Independent school, that it’s citizens continue to what to have but can’t afford when a County School near then is having a hard time keeping up with the growth and having a hard time doing it with the limited funds they receive? Now I will agree that some Independents like Beechwood and Highlands parents pay through the nose for their schools and like Boone County receive very little back for what they send down to Frankfort, so my gut feeling is if you want your own Independent School instead of going to the County School, then why shouldn’t you pay for it like the parents of the Private Schools.

 

Now if I am off base in my example I am sorry, but please tell me how I am off base and please don’t say religion, as when I was a child, my friends who went to the local public school walked over to the Church across the street to have a class in “Citizenship” at least three times a week.

The ultimate would be Danville combining with Boyle County. Talk about a football team. I think one that would be ranked in the nation year i, year out! I know they would beat Centre College who resides in Boyle County!

I don't think it works that way. The fact that both schools exist together there in Boyle County and have to compete with each other and have comparisons made about each to the other actually makes BOTH schools stronger in football. Combining them would probably not have your predicted result in the long run.

 

I doubt that the raw football talent in Boyle County is any better or worse than in many other areas of the state. What sets Boyle County and Danville apart is their dedication, development of the talent they do have, and their belief that they can do it.

 

I know it's gotten a little off-topic here but the same sort of synergy will eventually develop in Lexington when the public schools start playing LexCath. And only then will you start seeing Lexington schools playing in the Football finals on a regular basis.

 

Quit whining ... start winning.

I know in advance, what I am about to type, is going to get me into hot water wtih some, but here it goes anyway. :scared:

 

I personally think the Independent schools in Kentucky are no different than the Private Schools except that they get to use public tax funds. I will use Ludlow as an example as I grew up very near there. The good people of the City of Ludlow paid for the school to be independent, but as expenses have increased and the community of Ludlow has changed, the cost of running their independent school has outstripped the City’s ability to fully pay for it. So along with other independent schools and poorer school districts they sued the Commonwealth to better fund their schools at the expense of larger and richer school districts (not that I agree or disagree with the law just stating fact). So now the Independent School of Ludlow is not only funded by the City and its tax base, but they are also funded in large part by the people of the Commonwealth.

 

Now how are the two alike? Well the Ludlow Board of Education is made up entirely of citizens of Ludlow, who do what they think is best for their constituents, ditto for the private schools. They are required to follow the rules of the State Board of Education, but pretty much have a free rein how to live within those guideline, same for the Private schools. The Independent school of Ludlow doesn’t have to take anyone outside the border of the City of Ludlow and neither do the private schools have to take everyone. Now the big difference, the parents of the children who attend the private schools pay for what it costs to attend their school, while the Independent School of Ludlow receives a rather large subsidy from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Now could the good citizens of Ludlow send their children to the Kenton County School system if they chose to close their school system? Of course! Would it cost them any more? Probably not, but like the private school parent the good people of Ludlow choose to have their own school system, but unlike the private school parents they have others foot the bill for what they can’t afford to have.

 

The Boone County School District receives a much smaller percentage of tax dollars back from the Commonwealth from what they send down to Frankfort each year, compared to what the Independent School District of Ludlow sends down and receives back and Boone is growing by leaps and bounds while Ludlow’s growth is rather small if at all. Why the difference in funding for an Independent school, that it’s citizens continue to what to have but can’t afford when a County School near then is having a hard time keeping up with the growth and having a hard time doing it with the limited funds they receive? Now I will agree that some Independents like Beechwood and Highlands parents pay through the nose for their schools and like Boone County receive very little back for what they send down to Frankfort, so my gut feeling is if you want your own Independent School instead of going to the County School, then why shouldn’t you pay for it like the parents of the Private Schools.

 

Now if I am off base in my example I am sorry, but please tell me how I am off base and please don’t say religion, as when I was a child, my friends who went to the local public school walked over to the Church across the street to have a class in “Citizenship” at least three times a week.

Check the property tax rates for the independant school districts and you will find that the City taxes combined with county taxes are MUCH HIGHER in the independant districts. The amount of money the state returns to each individual school is based on enrollment and attendance.

Is Highlands willing to release their ADA money? I've heard some say they will and some say that they won't. I'm certain you would know.

 

 

Great question, but I do not know.

 

If they are not willing then they are more than a little hypocritical.

 

They should release it for no other reason than Ft. Thomas schools tend to get more out of district kids than kids in Ft. Thomas tend to go elsewhere. However, there are circumstances where it happens and I personally know of at least one.

Great question, but I do not know.

 

If they are not willing then they are more than a little hypocritical.

 

They should release it for no other reason than Ft. Thomas schools tend to get more out of district kids than kids in Ft. Thomas tend to go elsewhere. However, there are circumstances where it happens and I personally know of at least one.

 

Or maybe Highlands is not willing. Oh no that couldn't be but regardless how many kids want to leave Ludlow and transfer to Highlands or the other way around. Probably really isn't necessary. I have heard that Highlands is difficult for some districts closer to them to get a reciprocal agreement but I may very well be wrong and you would certainly know better then I on this type of issue.

I understand that around the state their are in some cases county schools residing very near independent schools. One case is Johnson Central is a stones throw from Paintsville Hugh School. There are cases like this all over the state. First, I wonder why the indepenents schools are needed. Wouldn't it make more sense to consolidate? Also, I understand that kids from outside the boundries of these independent schools can pay tuition and attend. My information tells me that the tuition ranges in the 2,000 to 3,000 dollar range, true or false? If this is the case how does the independet school make up the shortfall, as most school systems claim the annual cost per student to be in the 8,000 to 9,000 dollar range? No disrespect to independent school districts, but in these times of fiscal difficulties why not just operate one school? :confused:

They continue to operate because they do an excellent job, plain and simple! I for one think that the independent school districts continue to help raise the bar, forcing the public school districts to improve or continue to loose children to the independents! Our local indepentent school district is one of the best school systems (as determined by state wide testing) in the state. Our independent school system costs the state less per pupil than the county in which we reside. For this excellence, I pay a significantly higher tax rate than the county district. Competition is the American way and I support it and will gladly pay the higher taxes to maintain this option in education excellence!

Is Highlands willing to release their ADA money? I've heard some say they will and some say that they won't. I'm certain you would know.

 

Being one that lives in the Dixie district, I for one can say that Kenton Cty. and Ft. Thomas do have an agreement. I'm not sure if it is the only district that they have this agreement with, but I do know that none of the Campbell Cty. schools or Indendent School districts in CC have the same agreement as of this school year. I was told that those Districts just can't afford to release thier money. So HHS isn't all that bad now are they!

They continue to operate because they do an excellent job, plain and simple! I for one think that the independent school districts continue to help raise the bar, forcing the public school districts to improve or continue to loose children to the independents! Our local indepentent school district is one of the best school systems (as determined by state wide testing) in the state. Our independent school system costs the state less per pupil than the county in which we reside. For this excellence, I pay a significantly higher tax rate than the county district. Competition is the American way and I support it and will gladly pay the higher taxes to maintain this option in education excellence!

 

:thumb:

I gladly pay higher taxes to live in the district that I live in. If a couple of the independent school districts closed in our area, you would see a large private school open.

What is best for the largest amount of KIDS!

 

When you combine small schools into larger ones you take away from communities and kids.

 

Consolidating is about saving money not helping kids. Sad but true.

Pretty sure the ADA for last year was around $2500. It's the same for every public school in the state.

What is best for the largest amount of KIDS!

 

When you combine small schools into larger ones you take away from communities and kids.

 

Consolidating is about saving money not helping kids. Sad but true.

 

Combining schools does not always harm the kids. Take Bellevue and Dayton. If they combined the two schools you would still only have a 2A school. But those students would have the opportunity to take a wider variety of classes. More AP classes could be offered, etc. Obviously some teaching positions would be cut, but the school would still end up with more than enough teachers to offer classes that were not available at Dayton or Bellevue individually.

 

For example, maybe the only foreign language offered at Bellevue and Dayton is Spanish. If combined, French might be able to be offered. Clearly these students would benefit from more classes being offered.

 

I do agree though, for small schools that combine into a much larger school, there may not be as many benefits athletically, but there would definitely be benefits academically. And that is what schools are supposed to be concerned about first and foremost.

In Bracken Co. you have Augusta Independent and Bracken Co. High. Both schools receive state-funding, only private schools do not receive state-funding. Consolidation has been talked about for the last 30 years in this area and it has never materialized into anything. Many beleived a few years ago when Augusta was having financial problems they would consolidate w/Bracken--especailly w/Bracken moving into a new school at the time. It never happend and I doubt it ever will. I think it would benefit both schools academically and their athletic departments as well.

 

The academic issues would be worth the consolidation alone. I am a sports guy and love sports, but these schools are in the business of educationg first and foremost. In this particular situation everyone involved would benefit from a school merger.

In Somerset the Somerset Independent School System is limited by its boundries. We have an agreement with the county school system that allows for a limited number of children to attend our schools. All tuition--in the range of $500 a year is paid to the COUNTY school system to cover their loss in funds. The limits here are imposed by the county schools. In order for someone outside of the district to attend the city school they must get on a waiting list--the tuition and limits are set by the county schools even though their test scores are lower. Sometimes your ability to compete is limited by geography--not saying Somerset can't compete in 1A things are just different in larger areas--and it would be whether schools were public or private.

I would be more than OK with Lloyd and Beechwood being consolidated with Dixie... :sssh:

Mayfield sounds similar to Somerset. I think Mayfield is charging tuition and Graves has dropped theirs in recent years. I shudder at the thought of Mayfield and Graves consolidating, two totally different coaching styles!! I would never be for it for sure.