COV SCHOOLS APPROVE TAX INCREASE, COMMISSIONER WANTS STATE AUDIT

by Michael Monks
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A $10,000 raise for Covington Independent Public Schools Superintendent Lynda Jackson motivated angry posts at Facebook and even led to the creation of a page there called Covington KY 411 that mostly takes aim at the district's shortcomings. The tone got angrier following Thursday night's school board meeting in which the district's portion of property taxes will now rise from $105 per $100,000 value to $111 per. The move is expected to bring in $800,000 in revenue.

Board members Krista Athey, Mike Fitzgerald and Jerry Avery voted to pass the increase. Denise Varney voted no. Glenda Huff was not present.
As of this writing, there has been no public response from the district, the superintendent or the publicly elected board members. The River City News will post their comments as soon as we hear back from them.

"The Covington School Board's decision to raise taxes, once again, is a huge blow to the viability and quality of life in Covington," City Commissioner Shawn Masters tells The River City News. Both Masters and fellow Commissioner Steve Frank expressed their opinion at Tuesday night's Commission meeting, urging the public to understand that if property taxes are raised, that the schools would be to blame.

"We are already challenged with attracting residents given the state of this economy and to have one of the highest, now higher, school tax rates in the state, well, it's just disappointing," Masters continued.

Amid the online and political attacks on the schools and Jackson, former board member and current Chairman of the Kenton County Democrats, Col Owens posted an op-ed in the Cincinnati Enquirer, highlighting several points that make Covington's situation a unique one:

First, the percentage of Covington students eligible for free or reduced lunch is over 90%, while the county average is 48% – even in this recession when so many middle class people have joined the ranks of the unemployed.
More tragically, 14.5% of Covington students – over 600 students – are homeless. They are not necessarily living in a box under a bridge. They might live on someone’s couch, or in their vehicle. They don’t have a permanent or safe environment in which to live, much less study.
Covington schools’ African American minority rate is 32%, compared to a county population rate of 5%. The achievement gap between white and minority students is universal, well-documented, and very challenging to address.

Owens' op-ed followed a report that Holmes High School scored the lowest in the region on the standardized ACT.

"Accountability of the school board is nonexistent," Masters said. "We have one of the lowest performing schools in the state, the superintendent just got a raise, thousands was spent on a board retreat and the taxpayer continues to flip the bill. Outrageous."

A search for the most recent data on Kentucky's superintendent salaries indicates that for the 2009-10 school year, Jackson's salary was $114,480, below the then-state average of $116,957. By comparison, Newport's superintendent, in a district as troubled as Covington's, earned $192,109.

"It is my firm opinion that our state auditor needs to get involved," Masters said. "I'm not contending they are doing anything wrong, but the numbers just don't add up, and it's high time they are held accountable for their actions."

SALARIES FOR NKY SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS 2009-2010
Augusta 105738
Beechwood 116321
Bellevue 126177
Boone 168143
Bracken113121
Campbell 130248
Covington 114480
Dayton 141441
Erlanger 110000
Ft. Thomas 135000
Grant 116291
Kenton 158496
Lewis 135408
Ludlow 101707
Newport 192109
Pendleton 117001
Robertson 92965
Silver Grove 108021
Southgate 70248
Walton Verona 159500
Williamstown 108267
Jefferson (Louisville) 260000
Fayette (Lexington) 232033
State Average: 116957
Source: KY Dept. of Education