Rally for school choice in Corbin – Education is a ‘civil right’

– But, across the state, Kentucky isn’t meeting the responsibility

The Times Tribune reports that those who attended the school choice rally in Corbin this past weekend witnessed a powerful melding of interests from different groups and different regions of the state who now realize they share a common goal – securing better educations for all kids, regardless of wealth status or racial backgrounds.

Speakers including our own Jim Waters and Pastor Jerry Stephenson, president of the Kentucky Education Restoration Alliance and pastor of Midwest Church of Christ in Louisville, pointed out that parents in the rural Knox County/Corbin area of the state are not alone in their concerns about children being left behind. There are remarkable similarities to issues and concerns in the state’s largest urban school system in Louisville and in other districts where similar agreements have been cancelled in the past few years.

The rally covered a number of specifics including funding differences and extremely different educational outcomes for the Knox County Public Schools and the much better performing Corbin Independent school system, as can be seen in this comparison of high school 10th grade score results for the lone high school in Corbin and the two high schools in the Knox system.

(Graph: Bluegrass Institute Analysis)

Recently, Knox County summarily cancelled a three-decade old student transfer agreement that allowed parents of both school systems to freely choose to send their children to a school in either district.

For more on the rally, check out the Times Tribune, which has been running great coverage of this story, and stay tuned to the Bluegrass Policy Blog, as well.