School Report Cards Are Out!
A new state report landed this week with numbers every Kentucky taxpayer should see. Of every property tax dollar in Kentucky, 63 cents goes to K-12 schools. And 40.0 percent of General Fund appropriations go to K-12 schools. So every taxpayer has an interest in this school district information published this week. (Link to the full report in the comments.)
A few things stood out to me in the profiles for my districts and for the state:
Spending is up. Per-pupil spending statewide has risen 52% since 2016, from $10,225 to $15,565. Part of that is inflation.
Enrollment is down. Statewide, we have about 23,600 fewer students than in 2016. Jefferson and Oldham are down as well, and Shelby is flat.
Results and dollars. Here is spending per student next to elementary math and reading proficiency:
Oldham: $12,978, with 59% proficient in math and 64% in reading
Shelby: $14,184, with 39% in math and 42% in reading
Jefferson: $19,917, with 31% in math and 36% in reading
Kentucky: $15,565, with 43% in math and 49% in reading
Student populations are not the same from district to district, and cost of living and other context matter too, so this is not a perfect measure. It is not a verdict on any district, school, or teacher. But it is worth looking at.
Property behind each student. Assessed property per student is about $1.27 million in Jefferson, $1.02 million in Shelby, and $872,000 in Oldham, compared with $801,000 statewide. More property per student generally means more local capacity to fund schools.
Chronic absenteeism. Statewide, 25% of students are chronically absent, up from 15% in 2016. That is better than 2024 (28%), but still well above where it was. Jefferson is at 33%, Shelby at 18%, and Oldham at 11%. (This is important for educational purposes, of course; but it is also important for funding because if JCPS reduces its chronic absenteeism to the state rate, then it would get over $22 million more from the state, which has a large component of its funding mechanism dependent on average daily attendance.)
I encourage you to look at your own district’s page. The full research report is linked in the comments, and the pictures below are the four school districts I represent. Feel free to let me know your thoughts here or by emailing me at jason.nemes@kylegislature.gov.
