Newspaper: Jefferson County School Board flunking “Transparency 101” -- Addendum

Reference my earlier post on Jefferson County’s performance on CATS and NCLB, I know someone will raise the poverty question (always happens in Kentucky).

The poverty rate in Jefferson County Public Schools, based on the percent of students eligible for the federal free and reduced cost lunch program, per the “Kentucky Department of Education - Free/Reduced Price Approvals - October 2008” Excel file [marked as “FY 2009 Qualifying Data (Source - Oct 2008) .xls” here] is 60 percent.

Statewide, the rate is nearly equal at 54 percent.

So, the poverty excuse does not work for Jefferson County compared to Kentucky-wide averages.