A few months left before state lawmakers convene in Frankfort to hammer out a two year state spending plan.

Yesterday, public education advocates announced their funding request $718 million more than what they got in the last budget.

Our June Leffler explains.

Protect our schools key is the group that successfully fought amendment to the 2024 ballot measure that would have allowed public dollars to go to private and charter schools.

Now the group is asking for more money when lawmakers prepare a two year budget in the new year.

Every dollar we invest in education today is a dollar that we are investing in our workforce of tomorrow.

Kentucky's base per pupil funding is that more than $4,500, along with school transportation and matches to local funding.

That cost the state $3.3 billion a year.

We are asking lawmakers to invest $718 million into public education.

That is just a little over 3% of Kentucky's total budget.

This investment would equate to an increase in $1,161 per each Kentucky student.

This would allow us to raise seat funds by 14%, fully fund school transportation, and invest $38 million towards professional development textbooks and classroom technology.

The groups ask mirrors analysis from the left leaning Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, which says record high education funding from the state has not kept pace with inflation.

In 2020, a Chromebook purchase for a student would cost $373.

That same device today costs $565.

An increase in $200 per student for each device.

While Kentucky East last budget was the highest that we have seen in terms of raw dollars, it still falls short of the investment levels in 2008.

When that is ingested for inflation.

Republicans in Kentucky's state House have already pushed back on this initial request.

In a statement, the speaker of the House wrote, quote, far too many Kentucky children don't read or understand math at grade level.

It is past time for the education bureaucracy to stop demanding more money, and instead focus on the classroom and helping students reach their potential.

The chair of the Senate Budget Committee wrote, quote, the General Assembly was praised for passing the best education budget in a generation.

Yet now we're being handed a hyper partizan request that doesn't merit serious consideration from lawmakers.

Aside from per pupil funding, Republicans tout funding that has chipped away at teachers pension liability.

Democrats and public education advocates say those investments do not translate to the classroom.

For Kentucky edition, I'm June Leffler.

Thank you.

June.

So where exactly does the $718 million figure come from?

Protect our schools, Kentucky notes it's the amount of tax revenue the state missed out on due to the most recent state income tax reduction.

That comes from a recent report from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.