New dashboard charts each Kentucky school districts’ funding

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, October 25, 2024

Dashboard charts each Kentucky school districts’ funding, educational progress and teachers’ salaries

FRANKFORT, Ky – A new dashboard created by the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, Kentucky’s free-market think tank, is designed to better inform citizens about spending, academic results and teachers’ pay in their local school districts.

“Much of the news regarding education in Kentucky – including spending and outcomes – has been limited to the larger school districts with less attention given to rural areas, said Bluegrass Institute President Jim Waters. “But it’s important that parents and leaders in all local communities – urban, suburban and rural – have useful information to determine how their local schools perform and make informed decisions about where they live, and – if given the opportunity – where their children are educated.”

Easily accessed at the top of Bluegrass Institute's website, the dashboard contains graphics charting:

Inflation-adjusted per-pupil spending comprised of various revenue streams flowing into districts for each student enrolled, including local property tax, state and federal dollars marking each decade since 1990.
Student proficiency rates in reading and math – including those for students from low-income homes.
Teachers’ salaries versus per-pupil spending since 1990.
ACT performance since 2008, when Kentucky required all high school juniors to take the test.

“This new transparency tool indicates that virtually all Kentucky school districts have experienced large increases in funding, stagnant test-score results and lagging teachers’ salaries,” Waters said. “We encourage all Kentuckians to utilize this user-friendly instrument to follow the progress – or lack thereof – in their local school districts.”

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Bluegrass Institute works with Kentuckians, grassroots organizations, and business owners to advance freedom and prosperity by promoting free-market capitalism, smaller government and defense of personal liberties.

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