Board hopes to leave SEEK intact

Local News

December 20, 2008

By SUSAN WHEELDON, CJ Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Sat Dec 20, 2008, 09:26 PM EST

Pulaski County Schools Superintendent Tim Eaton encouraged those at this month’s Pulaski County School Board meeting to let local legislatures know they agree with Governor Steve Beshear’s proposal to leave the SEEK formula intact.

Governor Beshear currently has a proposal in the face of the state budget crisis that would avoid cuts to the Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) pro-gram. SEEK money is used to provide services for special needs students, utility cost and transportation cost.

According to Eaton, however, legislatures would have to embrace the proposal in the upcoming legislature session.

The superintendent said that previously those in Frankfort had asked that the 174 school districts in the state give a proposal on what a four percent cut would do to the districts.

“When the results went to Frankfort, it was devastating,” said Eaton of those findings.

Eaton said that 51 districts reported they would not be able to meet the two percent contingency that is required by the state, while 30 to 32 districts reported they would be in the red with the cuts.

“No one really knows what will happen (for the coming year),” said Eaton.

“I applaud the governor for looking at education as a priority,” he added.

Eaton said that if the SEEK formula is left the same and there isn’t a four percent cut, that would leave $1.5 million in the Pulaski County district, which would prove very valuable.

He added though that he believes there is a realization with the legislature that they’ve got to look at other ways of raising revenue to help the state’s budget shortfall.

“I encourage you (as board members) to voice your opinion,” said Eaton, “and I call on staff to also do that.

“We need to voice our support for (Beshear’s proposal),” added Eaton.

In other business:

• PRISM award recipients were Jeff Nash, administrator; Karen Cook, counselor at Southwestern High School; Jaclyn Richardson, teacher at Northern Middle School and Dana Etherington, teacher at Shopville Elementary.

• The board approved accepting the 2008 Financial Audit conducted by White and Associates, which a repres-entative of the company said was an “excellent” audit report.

• The court approved the working budget which would come to a total of $63817,110.36 for 2008-2009 as balanced. The budget would allow the general fund to have a 2 percent contingency.

• The board approved a custodial position for the Central Office East Annex building for four hours a day, 240 days of the year.

• There was approval by the board for the district to accept assistance in the 2009 Fiscal Year from the School Facilities Construction Commission for $80,712 to be used for technology.

• The board approved three-year contracts for non-resident students with Clinton, Lincoln, Casey, Wayne, McCreary, Rockcastle, Monticello, Russell and Laurel counties. Contracts with Somerset Independent allow 240 students and Science Hill Independent school allow for 172 students. Those contracts are for a one-year term.

• The board approved the revised BG-3 for the new Woodstock Elementary School project and the total construction cost will be $11,700,000 and the Grant Total Project Cost is $15,104,904.

• Keri Schelling from the Kentucky State School Board Association (KSBA) presented board member Betty Richards with a plaque of KSBA’s appreciation for her twenty years of school board service. Richards did not run for re-election in November’s election.

• Superintendent Eaton presented Richards and board member Allen Larkin with plaques of appreciation honoring them for their years of dedicated service to the students of Pulaski County Schools. Richards retired as a 30-year teacher then served as board member for 20 consecutive years. Larkin has served two terms on the board, one from 1997 to 2000 and then from April 2005 to the end of this year.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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