Ky. lawmakers override tax hike veto

Projected $480 million to fund public education

FRANKFORT, Ky. — With the chants of hundreds of teachers ringing in their ears, Kentucky lawmakers voted Friday to override the Republican governor’s veto of a two-year state budget that increases public education spending with the help of a more than $480 million tax increase.

The votes came as thousands of teachers rallied inside and outside the Capitol, forcing more than 30 school districts to close as Kentucky continued the chorus of teacher protests across the country.

Republican Gov. Matt Bevin noticed the teachers, too. He told reporters he saw them hanging out with their shoes off, smoking and “leaving trash around.” He bemoaned the “hundreds of thousands of children” he says were likely left home alone because schools were closed and some parents likely did not have time to find child care.

“I guarantee you somewhere in Kentucky today a child was sexually assaulted that was left at home because there was nobody there to watch them,” Bevin said, according to a video posted to Twitter by a reporter for WDRB-TV.

“I guarantee you somewhere today a child was physically harmed or ingested poison because they were home alone because a single parent didn’t have any money to take care of them. I’m offended by the idea that people so cavalierly and so flippantly disregarded what’s truly best for children.”

A spokesman for the Kentucky Education Association declined to comment on Bevin’s remarks.

Stephanie Ikanovic, who has been a teacher for 21 years, said she did not want to be out of her classroom, but said she felt compelled to come to Frankfort to advocate for her students.

“I want to be in my classroom instructing future citizens, but I’m afraid that spending at the state level is getting worse and worse, and we need those dollars for a 21st century education,” she said.

The two-year state operating budget includes record new spending for public education, fueled by a 50-cent increase in the cigarette tax and a 6 percent sales tax on some services including home and auto repair.

But Bevin vetoed both the budget and the money in it, calling the bills “sloppy” and “non-transparent.”

He said they would not raise enough money to cover the new spending.

Bryan Woolston The Associated Press Teachers from across Kentucky gather Friday inside the state Capitol to rally for increased education funding in Frankfort, Ky.