KEJA -- Raising The Bar: Press Release

NEWS RELEASE: 12/15/05
Contact: Heather Roe Mahoney
Phone: 859 276-0563
Mobile: 859 559-8439
hrmahoney at gmail.com

Raising the Bar: Kentucky's Real Budget Report

KENTUCKY NEEDS $1.8 BILLION INVESTMENT IN CRITICAL STATE PROGRAMS

Kentucky Economic Justice Alliance calls on State Politicians to Enact Meaningful Tax Reform

LONDON: A new KEJA report highlights the need for Kentucky to invest almost $2 billion a year in new revenue to adequately support public schools, higher education, health care, criminal justice and other crucial state programs.

“Kentuckians want quality schools, access to good health care, and a better future for our children,” said KFTC Chairwoman Janet Tucker. “These are things that people are willing to invest in. But politicians with a ‘revenue neutral’ mentality are starving public services of the funds needed to move this state forward. Their anti-tax agenda is really anti-people. It prevents our government from being able to respond to our state’s critical needs.”

In its analysis of key state budget areas, Raising the Bar: Kentucky’s Real Budget Report finds that chronic under-funding of programs that increase state competitiveness and benefit quality of life is leading to a Kentucky that at best is standing still, and at worst, is falling further and further behind the rest of the nation.

“Raising the Bar describes the growing body of evidence that Kentucky faces a looming budget crisis. It is not intended to be comprehensive, but it makes the case that significant additional investments are needed for Kentucky to make progress in key areas such as education, health care, and justice,” explained Debra Miller, Kentucky Youth Advocate's Director of Public Policy and a report contributor.

For example, reports released over the summer of 2005 revealed that:

Governing Magazine ranked Kentucky 50th in per capita state spending on education.
Kentucky’s poverty rate increased faster than all but one other state between 2003 and 2004, rising from 14.3 percent to 16 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Child poverty rose from 22 to 24 percent from 2000 to 2003.
Kentucky fell five spots to 42nd in overall child well-being, the state’s worst ranking in the 16 years of a survey done by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Kentuckians die at a rate that is 18% above the national average.
Nearly 44,000 Kentuckians experience homelessness in a year’s time.

In examining funding levels and unmet needs in the areas of public education, higher education, health care, criminal justice, housing, and tax expenditures and economic development, Raising the Bar found that:

Public schools need $337 million to bring Kentucky per pupil spending to the average of surrounding states.
Kentucky’s Council on Postsecondary Education reports that the higher education system needs $250 million to catch up with comparable schools in other states.
$132 million is needed to cover the Medicaid shortfall.
$132 million is needed for health insurance for teachers and state employees.
At least $25 million is needed for mental health services.
County jails housing state prisoners are in need of $100 million in order to avoid running deficits.

Raising the Bar offers a number of tax reform options and good government initiatives for building a better Kentucky.

“Responsible leadership, fair and adequate tax reform, and well-supported public services would contribute to our state's development,” noted Erik Lewis, a KFTC member and community college teacher from Rowan County. “I see the toll that tuition increases take on my students and feel how tight budgets wear down our faculty. Until we take steps to raise needed revenue, budget shortfalls will continue to pit funding for community colleges against other levels of education, and against other legitimate needs, such as those of Medicaid, public defenders, environmental protection - to say nothing about state employees' retirement systems. Kentucky must do better.”

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Statements from KEJA Teleconference Speakers

Raising the Bar Executive Summary

Raising The Bar PDF of Full Report

Raising The Bar Press Room

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