NEVER LEAVE KENTUCKY!!!!!

During the confirmation discussion of Dr. Robbie Fletcher to the Kentucky Department of Education, the KSBA tweeted out something said by Kentucky's Max Wise.  

Sen. Max Wise says he's "very excited once again that we're bringing into this position someone that has been here within Kentucky has not traveled outside of Kentucky for education and that knows our Commonwealth well."

Max Wise hit upon something that some of my teachers at Oldham County tried to tell me when I left for Boston University, but I just wouldn't listen.  NEVER LEAVE KENTUCKY!

Truthfully, leaving Kentucky was probably the most traumatic experience of my life, ranking above the birth of my healthy daughter, but slightly below the horror of paying good money to see Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace.   

The things I experienced while at Boston University are not for the faint of heart.  I'll list them here, but I want to provide a trigger warning for people who are harmed by new experiences and encounters.   

As a student in Boston, I......

• Encountered vibrant student populations of every race and religion who unafraid to celebrate their own culture and heritage
• Realized that some of the jokes and stereotypes I thought were funny were actually racist to people who weren't afraid to call me out about them
• Lived in a coed dorm where I regularly stayed up all night having conversations with the opposite sex, LGBTQ people, and people who weren't straight white male Christians.   
• Had professors across the political spectrum who challenged us to think and speak up in class and defend our ideas and beliefs
• Got to see multiple art exhibits of different artists including an incredible Monet exhibit
• Saw the premiere of a Holocaust documentary with a panel that included Elie Wiesel
• Attended classes and lectures with filmmakers, producers, and screenwriters like Michael Wadleigh (Woodstock), William Friedkin (Exorcist, French Connection), Tony Bill (The Sting), Julius Epstein (Casablanca), Martha Coolidge (Real Genius, Valley Girl)
• Had the opportunity to meet or hear several celebrites speak in person, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Reed, Penn & Teller, writer Robert B. Parker, Rick Pitino (seriously), Mick Fleetwood, Don Novello (SNL), and more
• Saw an enormous section of the NAMES project AIDS quilt that forever changed my heart and the way I looked at the LGBTQ community
• Literally lived around the corner from a Planned Parenthood clinic and heard and saw the weekly protests whose obnoxiousness and cruelty forever set me against the anti-abortion crowd.  A year after I graduated, that clinic and one other would be shot up by a crazed anti-abortion fanatic, John Salvi. 
• Made several 16 MM films using professional equipment at various locations
• Watched an entire city take on an ugly citywide manhunt for every black man with a pulse after Chuck Stuart murdered his wife Carol Stuart and blamed a vaguely described black male for the crime.    
• Heard the first usage of the phrase Driving While Black when our Dean of Students described being stopped by cops after the Stuart murder.  He was only blocks from where he lived in wealthy Brookline, Massachusetts, but he was a black male in a wealthy white area.  He was the first person I ever heard talk about how black males learn early to do everything they can to avoid a confrontation of any sort during stops like this, even when they know they've done nothing wrong. 
• Got stopped by Boston Police in the middle of Boston's Combat Zone for going the wrong way down a one-way street while riding in my friend's 59 Buick.  Saw that two white knuckleheads will get a pass if they're in a cool car.   
• Was a participant in a very tense interfaith session on religious tolerance and diversity that included a Holocaust survivor when four students on my floor had some religious insensitivity escalate into an incident involving a swastika.  
• Went to church regularly at one of the many services offered at the chapel on campus.  
• Rode public transportation everywhere and saw the benefits of easy access to it. 
• Had access to multiple bookstores and record stores of enormous size and scope and fueled my love of reading
• Had access to the great Boston Public Library
• Made my first real trip to New York City and fell in love with Manhattan
• Fell in love for the first time
• Had my heart broken for the first time
• Watched a lot of college hockey
• Met a lot of people who had no interest in college basketball and thought March Madness was a sales event at Jordan's Furniture (it was a Boston staple.  Look it up.). 
• Wrote a 25 page paper on the classic sitcom tropes of the Golden Girls.  Don't judge me.  
• Read three newspapers a day (Boston Globe, USA Today, Wall Street Journal)
• Made memories and met friends that have lasted me a lifetime
• Learned how to live on my own and further develop thoughts and beliefs independent of my family and community 
• Think I came out a better and more understanding person than when I went in

Horrific, isn't it?  

The fact is that our lawmakers and far too many in our communities live in fear of outside influence and change.  The idea that we can learn and grow and become better people scares a lot of people for reasons that escape me.  Perhaps it's simply a few centuries of cultural inertia that sees change and outside influences as something to be afraid of, even when they're coming from people born and raised here.

Jason Glass committed the cardinal sin of putting out innocuous guidance on how best to handle LGBTQ kids.  None of that guidance was controversial or mandated how teachers should feel or behave. None of it told teachers to not involve parents.   It was level headed guidance based on opinions from medical, mental health, teaching, and legal professionals.  But because it came out under his watch, and our legislature was knee deep in their latest attempt to rile up division and hate in the name of votes, Jason Glass came under attack for this guidance.

I have never met Robbie Fletcher.  But I have met Max Wise and I've seen him in action.  

I watched how he joined his running mate Kelly Craft in attacking transgender youth.  I watched him help ram through Senate Bill 150 against sound medical and mental health advice while ignoring the voice of Kentucky students and their parents who were impacted by the bill.  I watched him use the ridiculous attacks of "woke" against anyone who dared express a desire to consider the wants and needs of the marginalized.  I saw Max's e-mails of support to the cruel hate group "Mom's For Liberty" after they attacked Max's colleague Karen Berg and her dead transgender son, Henry.  I saw Max Wise repeat stupid claims and make false accusations against Mr. Fletcher's predecessor.  

Max Wise is not a good person.  He's not an educated person who makes decisions based on reason, kindness, and the best interest of students.   He's a reactionary political tool.  

So when Robbie Fletcher says in response to Max Wise's tweet above that "Senator Wise has been a friend for some time now" and thanks him for his support, I can't help but wonder what that says about Dr. Fletcher.  Is his department of education going to be one that only supports the people that Max Wise and his colleagues consider Kentuckians?  Or is it one that will recognize the humanity and needs of all of its students regardless of their background?    

Maybe we'd all be better served if Kentucky's leaders actually experienced more than what happens in their own backyard.  At the very least I think we'd be kinder and more decent human beings.  I hope that Dr. Fletcher realizes that Max Wise is a friend to nobody, except those who serve his own political career.  And if it comes time for Max to turn on Fletcher or his department, he will do so in a New York Minute.  

My E-mail to The JCPS Board Regarding Their Decision To Remove Transportation to Most Magnets

Good morning,

Congratulations to four of you for accomplishing what so many in Louisville have wanted all along.   Neighborhood schools, segregation, and enough overall dysfunction being demonstrated by both the board and its administration to make pretty much everyone in the city and state want to have SOMETHING.... ANYTHING.... done. 

The board screwed up when you trusted Marty Pollio and his team that said we needed a ridiculously convoluted plan to fix transportation.   And I get it.  Maybe, like me, you thought his heart and head were in the right place.   But it should have been obvious from the first day that he was not up to the task, nor was his team.  

I'm honestly not sure if Alpharoute was hired to fix things, or simply share the blame for destroying them.   Because again, the people that have long sought to destroy what 1975 brought us are finally getting their wish.    

And after paying hundreds of thousands to Alpharoute, we hired another company to tell us how Alpharoute and JCPS screwed up.   They did, in ways that seemed to withstand scrutiny. 

So what did you do?  You tried to rush a vote.  You did so in a meeting where you didn't open an overflow room until the meeting was underway, and you left at least 100 people out in the rain.   You knew it would be controversial.  You didn't care.   But you did decide to table the vote for a bit after receiving the auditor's report and hearing the thoughts of the auditor.     

In that time, you would think that the district would be trying to figure out a plan B.   Or at least better justifying the fact that there were not better alternatives.   

Rather than wait for the next scheduled board meeting, you called one with 24 hours notice.   You provided no opportunity for speakers prior to the meeting. Again more people were left out in the rain.  I guess some of you were tired of hearing feedback when your mind was made up.   You went into another meeting where you were given three not great options.   And when you questioned those who brought the plan to you, you found out that as the auditors had told you, departments weren't coordinating on feedback for the new plan.    

In the meantime, the voices of the people who will be impacted most are ignored.   

You bought the transportation department less than a week.  You didn't demand accountability from Marty Pollio and the team that brought you this disaster.  You didn't demand a plan for the flaws found by the auditors.  You didn't demand an explanation for how this new plan will work.  

We have five months.  We had far longer than that previously, and still Pollio and his team blew everything up.  Ignoring the consequence to students, do you think that pulling transportation from magnets is NOT going to have a ripple effect on schools and transportation for next year?   Parents are going to be demanding answers, looking for transfers, and seeking to make major changes to their enrollment. The schools currently have no real idea how these changes will impact their enrollment, class sizes, car rider lines, bus crowding, and more.   Will staffing need to shift to accommodate more students at school X vs school Y?   Will teachers decide to quit, retire, or transfer?  Does anyone know?  Is there anything beyond an 8 page Powerpoint with a few sentences to provide a roadmap?   

Maybe you had no choice.  Maybe you're tired of hearing about it and want to move on.  But I would have hoped that getting played by the administration would have made all of you a little more angry and wanting accountability than you have been.  

Three of you made the right vote last night.  But all of you should have been publicly demanding more from a Superintendent who appears in every meeting like he's simply counting the days until you push him into retirement, and an administration that seems to be so overwhelmed by everything that's happened that nobody can coordinate a true crisis response that gets all the right people on board, despite having months to do so.   

You all have a tough job.  Certainly one tougher than the legislators who are now laughing about this have, and one with a hell of a lot more public input and accountability than true clowns like Jason Nemes, Lindsey Tichenor, Ken Fleming, and the other parade of JCPS critics in Frankfort.  But last night made all of us who believed in this board and this superintendent look like fools, and that same crowd in Frankfort is gleefully celebrating.   

Perhaps I should just be happy my family got what we wanted and let it go.   That's what everyone who voted for this seems to want out of the community.   Forgive me if it all makes me a little sick to my stomach.   

The man that you hired and gave a nice fat raise to failed you and this community.   His response was to pass the buck to others who clearly are exhausted and not up to the task.   

Last night you decided to approve that failure with your vote, conspicuously split by a clear racial divide that once again leaves black voices out in the cold.  The forces that have hated busing, desegregation, and a school system that makes it harder to sell real estate are celebrating today.    

Bravo.  

Rob Mattheu

Kentucky's Republican Legislators Put Their Own Political Virtue Signaling Over the Health and Well-being of Mothers

My father died in July of 2018.  He was my hero, my best friend, and the person I looked to for comfort, advice, and a bit of calm sanity in a world that offers too little of it.  

I'd give anything to have him back, but I appreciate the experience it gave me in understanding grief.  

What nobody tells you is how darkly awful and funny grief can be.  

I remember sitting in a funeral home only hours after my father died and the funeral home giving us a TV sales pitch for more lighthearted funeral options.  One of the vignettes was a man known for his BBQ sauce being celebrated with everyone getting a bottle of specially packaged sauce at the funeral.   As I watched this absurdity pass by, all I could think of was a slogan for the sauce, "There's a little bit of Fred in every bottle." 

What I learned in the days, months, and years following his death was that no two people grieve the same.   Some of us move on quickly, comforted by faith, a life well lived, and perhaps the knowledge our loved one is no longer suffering.  

Others take longer, processing a life without our loved one.  Perhaps we ponder things unsaid, the hole in our lives without them,  or simply the emotions that blindside us out of the blue.  

Or maybe we never fully get over it.  

Each of us handles grief in our own way based on our past, our beliefs, our mindset, the reactions of people in our lives, and the emotional and physical aspects of no longer having that person in our lives.  

Grief packages up the absurd, the mundane, and often the best and worst in people who the grieving person knows and interacts with.  

The best is on view in the people who show up that you never expect to see.  The people who you barely know that show up to offer you kindness.   The friends you haven't seen in years who drive long distances to spend five minutes to give you a hug.   The friends of your loved ones who give their own small and touching tributes.  They're the people who are there for your needs, not their own.  

Then there are the people who don't really know what to do, so they offer you empty platitudes that sound like comfort but really aren't.  "He's in a better place" may sound great, but the reality is that my dad is in an urn 1/30th the size he was when he was alive.  Both we and he would much rather he be here with us in the form we all loved and cherished.   Trust me when I say that no slogan or phrase on a plaque you buy online expresses sentiments deep enough to impact those who are grieving.  

And then there are the truly thoughtless.   The people who make your grief about them.  They are the ones who judge your grief and how you go about it.  They're the ones who assume that if you don't respond as they think you should then there must be something wrong with you.  They're the ones who come to you at your lowest point and manage to make you feel even lower.   We had a few of those, including a family friend of many years who turned a simple misunderstanding about a facebook post on my dad's death and turned it into a reason to berate my mom for my "unfriending" her.  (I'd never been her facebook friend to begin with.).  

Those are the people I think of when I look at Kentucky House members Nancy Tate, Kimberly Poore Moser, and Right to Life lobbyist Addia Wuchner when they bring forth legislation like House Bill 467, the ridiculously named "Love Them Both Act Part II Act".  

These individuals love to pretend that they're benevolent martyrs who only care about the lives of the unborn and their families.  But instead, they have a twisted devotion to the idea that every pregnancy is more sacred than the lives of everyone surrounding that pregnancy, even if the pregnancy is doomed to result in a child who does not survive birth.   

The Love Them Both Act Part II Act is meant to encourage parents of non-viable pregnancies to do what Nancy Tate and Addia Wuchner want them to do, which is carry those pregnancies to term.  

I am the proud father of a beautiful young daughter.  My wife and I were fortunate to have had a relatively smooth pregnancy and delivery and did not have to face the heartache and heartbreak of a non-viable pregnancy.   But I can tell you that the last thing I or my wife would have wanted if we'd faced that tragic outcome is someone like Nancy Tate or Addia Wuchner telling us the "best" way to deal with our grief would be to follow the path that makes THEM feel best.   If we'd have decided the best thing to do was to terminate the pregnancy immediately, a legislative mandate to try and dissuade us would do nothing but hurt us more.   

I completely agree that pregnant women and their families should receive every bit of support possible in that pregnancy, including mental health support should the pregnancy fail or turn out to be non-viable.  But the creators of this legislation are some of the most radical among anti-abortion forces, who feel that the mother's life and emotional well-being should NEVER be put first.  The primary sponsor, Nancy Tate, called a victim of sexual abuse "broken" for speaking out in support of the right of a rape victim to abort a pregnancy caused by that rape.   The sponsors and supporters of this bill believe there is no pregnancy at any stage that should be aborted, even if the child or mother will not survive.   These people are not above using shame, guilt, and pressure to force those who are hurting or grieving to do what THEY want, and not what best meets the individual needs of the mother and her family. 

Consider the comments of Kentucky Representative Ryan Dotson, who, in voting for this bill in committee, had this to say about his colleagues who walked out in protest of the intent of the bill.   

"I'd just like everyone to take notice.  My colleagues on the Democratic side all got up and left.  And that's an atrocity, because when it comes to these types of issues, this is very important, and I want folk to understand we're just protecting the life and health of these children."  

Ryan's so busy grandstanding his "pro-life" bonafides that he doesn't seem to realize the bill deals with pregnancies where the health and life of children is already doomed.   Is that the type of person you want "helping" women and their families through their grief?   

Being there for grieving people requires both sympathy and empathy, something Kentucky's Republican legislators are too often lacking.  Placing their own selfish belief that the fate of a nonviable fetus is more important than the complex feelings of the families wrestling with grief shows just how ghoulish they truly are.  In their desire to be "pro-life", they've abandoned their own humanity.  An act that says to "love them both" shows love for nobody but themselves and special interest groups. 

An Open Letter to Louisville Republicans About Their Call for a JCPS Audit

Dear Republican Legislators Representing Jefferson County, 

You recently made a very public showing of calling for another audit of JCPS, referring to the findings of the previous audit, and adding issues like the transportation issues currently plaguing the district, weapons in schools, and academic performance.   

I'd love to think that this was made in good faith, but given the legislative priorities of your party and the people involved in this letter, I doubt that's the case.   But I hope you at least read this for some perspective on the issues you raise and some food for thought. 

PREVIOUS AUDIT 

Did any of you take the time to ask JCPS about the ways in which the 2014 audit had been addressed within the district?     Ten years later, it seems reasonable to ask the district itself for a report on the steps it has taken to address the audit.  

Have you considered the issues raised in the audit and if they might be present in other school districts?  Have you considered asking that EVERY district be audited to make sure that issues like the ones in the report are addressed across the state?  Has the legislature created any bills or budgeted funds to make sure that these issues are addressed in every district?   Below are some of the issues directly from the 2014 audit that I would imagine are present in other districts.   Do you have any plans to audit them to make sure that these issues aren't universal?  JCPS may be big enough to swallow a few dozen districts in terms of its size, but that doesn't mean those districts should escape scrutiny.  If anything, it makes it easier for those districts to hide their own internal issues. 

-Over 93 percent of JCPS teachers spent personal funds to supplement resources for classroom instruction primarily due to a lack of financial resources allocated to the classroom.

-Compared to peer (out of state) districts, JCPS had the lowest textbook budget and did not receive textbook funding from the state.

-The percentage of students able to provide all required and optional classroom supply list items has decreased in the last three years.

-Board members generally do not appear to have a depth of understanding to actively examine or question the budget effectively without significant reliance on JCPS staff.

-The Board lacks a committee structure to provide a detailed level of oversight of financial and audit matters.

-JCPS has not maintained contracts for banking services used to deposit and secure hundreds of millions of dollars in JCPS funds.

-JCPS does not maintain a central database of all JCPS contracts.

-JCPS has active contracts that can be renewed or continued annually without report or presentation to the Board.

-Payments totaling $41,364 to three JCPS contractors for professional services had either insufficient documentation or were not in compliance with contracts.

-Poor documentation and lax oversight led to $5,561 in overpayments for capital construction change orders.

-Central Office monitoring of the use of textbook funding is limited and textbook needs are not included in the overall improvement plans at the school or district level.

-JCPS’ current purchasing cards were plagued by administrative issues and complete supporting documentation for card transactions could not be located without extensive review.

-JCPS lacks a comprehensive and centralized manual of procedures to ensure that they are current and consistent with Board approved policies.

-Travel reimbursement guidelines are vague and lead to inconsistencies.

-JCPS has not developed written procedures documenting the assignment process and allowable usage of JCPS owned vehicles taken home by staff.

-JCPS does not have a consistent policy for all salaried staff regarding the use of accrued leave time for partial days and may result in a larger than necessary liability for unused leave payouts.

-Various issues with internal audit departments and IT security and structure 

BUSING / TRANSPORTATION 

There is no doubt that the start to this year was a disaster.  Marty Pollio and his team deserve criticism for not having tested the routing, not having a crisis plan in place, and for not being adequately prepared for responding to a crisis.  I have said as much in my own comments on the matter.  But what goes unsaid is that Pollio is taking steps to move the district toward neighborhood schools while also retaining school choice, something that your party claims to want.  The difficulties of maintaining choice and transportation for students are something that your party doesn't like to talk about.  If a student in one part of the county wants to attend a school in another part of the county, they still have to get there, and not every parent has the flexibility, money, vehicle, or time to get their child there.  So do you want school choice, do you want neighborhood schools, do you want a hybrid, or do you simply just want to have choice only for parents who can afford the costs of getting their child from where they are to where they want to go?  JCPS has spent years refining its model to do it as efficiently as possible.  This year, under increasing staffing issues, they blew up that model to do more with less.  That it failed is a sign that something has to give in the equation.  If you're following the news, you know that multiple districts have had trouble hiring and retaining enough bus drivers.   

In regard to safety of students, part of the concerns of residents in Jefferson County were that new bus stops were in unsafe locations, not easily accessible by sidewalk, and other concerns that are difficult for JCPS to remedy on their own.  Has the legislature considered more funding for infrastructure like this, or perhaps working on new regulations to govern how developments are built, lit, and accessed to help ensure that kids have safe ways to get to transportation options?   

Jason Nemes' family has benefited from JCPS having school choice, just like mine has.  Poor and middle class students who want to go to certain schools available to them rely on transportation for those choices.  Had we not had transportation, my daughter would not have been able to attend Noe and Manual, both of which were instrumental in her art education and her achieving success in college.  I valued having choices available to us.  If you truly believe in school choice, then the issue of transportation is a key part of that equation.  Faulting JCPS for the problems in shifting away from the bussing your party has spent 45+ years attacking and exploiting on behalf of private schools is a sign to me you're not sincere about much of anything when it comes to Louisville's education.  

POLICIES LACK TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY 

Your letter doesn't elaborate on this one, as the audit findings were more regarding sloppy and poor documentation of policies and procedures, and the fact that some were out of date.   From my perspective, JCPS has made strides in transparency and public accountability as it relates to policy.  It's interesting that your party made a great show of outrage at JCPS' policy discussions on SB150 which were a great example of both transparency AND public accountability.  The meetings were public, held in the usual public place with public access to the documentation being discussed prior to the committee meeting and board meeting.    I challenge you to find this same transparency in other districts throughout the state.   Let's look at the other districts you serve.  Perhaps as part of your legislative agenda for next year you can create some minimum requirements for making agendas, minutes, and clearly recorded meeting video to be available on the internet for all districts.       

Here is Bullitt County's agenda page:   https://portal.ksba.org/public/Agency.aspx?PublicAgencyID=24. Can you find any details of what is going to be discussed in these meetings?  Policy updates have NO attached copies of the policies being discussed.  Should constituents be required to do an ORR to see these documents?    

Here is Shelby County's agenda page:  https://www.shelby.kyschools.us/Page/2685 Again, policies and other documentation discussed in the meetings are not attached.  When you look at the minutes from 2023, you can't find ANYTHING from the 7/13/23 meeting where a large chunk of policies, including those dealing with SB150 were approved.   

Here is Hardin County's agenda page: https://portal.ksba.org/public/Agency.aspx?PublicAgencyID=76.  Hardin gets points for at least having the policies available as part of their agenda, but it appears from the minutes that they were approved as part of the consent agenda.   

Henry County has a Board of Education page which links to minutes, but no agenda is provided.  Henry County did a "review" and approval of SB150 policies in an emergency single reading on 6/17.  Transparent, no?   

Here is Oldham County's agenda page: https://portal.ksba.org/public/Agency.aspx?PublicAgencyID=133&AgencyTypeID=1. If you click into the agenda where policies got their first reading the link is not available, it directs you back to the website.  They appear to only just now be seeking the services of KSBA in drafting policies compliant with state law and consistent with other districts.  I have searched for their policies drafted in relation to SB150, but can't find the specific policy.  Perhaps one of you can.  

Here is Anderson County's agenda page....   Oh wait, I can't find one.   But maybe my Senator, Adrienne Southworth can point me to where agendas or meeting minutes are posted.   I must say it was a nice bit of gerrymandering to move my Senator to one based in Anderson County.  

I am 1000% behind transparency and accountability.  If you really want to show your own commitment to it, I'd suggest you remove the shield legislators currently have on open records requests into their own activities, as well as expanding open meetings and open records laws so that we have MORE transparency into how you and agencies around the state operate.    

NUMBER OF BOARD MEMBERS

You have highlighted the audit finding that 7 board members were inadequate to monitor JCPS.   Edelen suggested adding two more at-large members.  While I'm not opposed to the idea, I wonder if the goal in calling for this is more eyes on the district, or more opportunities to politicize the school board and perhaps shift it toward changes desired by outside forces and not the constituents of the district.  I can only say from my own experience that our board members are paid very little, do a lot of work essentially for free, and are far more receptive to questions and feedback than anyone I've encountered in Frankfort.  Most are well prepared for meetings, understand their role vs that of the Superintendent, and do their level best to work for what is best for students.   I wish I could say the same for the people in Frankfort.  You made a great show of introducing a 15 minute public comment period before each JCPS meeting.  Might I suggest that you do the same for your own legislative session and committee meetings?    

DEADLY WEAPONS AND VIOLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM

Let me say that I 100% agree with keeping guns and violence in the classroom and figuring better ways to address youth violence before it's too late.   I also do believe that JCPS needs to do a better job of addressing disciplinary issues in the classroom and school buses.  But let's not ignore your own party's role in glorifying guns and refusing to do anything to tamper gun violence.    Consider SB168 to require the destruction of guns confiscated in crimes.  Perhaps it's only a symbolic gesture at best since there is no shortage of guns available to Kentuckians, but what message does it send to our youth that a gun used to commit a crime today could wind up back on the streets to do the same again?   We're selling guns to buy police the equipment they need to be safe from guns?  Seems silly, no?  

How about red flag laws?  Despite a fellow Republican introducing a bill to create them, it failed to get anywhere.   Some of your members actually drafted a resolution against red flag laws.  Again, maybe it doesn't stop a school crime, but how committed are you to violence if you all lack the moral courage to advance reasonable gun laws?  

Students of color, who make up a large percentage of JCPS' population, are subject to disproportionate discipline for the same infractions as their white peers.    I know that your party doesn't like to talk about this, but it's a fact of life for these students and their families.  JCPS has been trying for a while to address this issue and strike a balance that maintains discipline in the classroom while not creating a school to prison pipeline for kids.   Obviously, this is difficult, but it should not be ignored just because your districts don't include a high percentage of people of color.  JCPS has been working on facilities and support for people in the areas hardest hit by crime in Louisville, and trying to create a sense of school community in areas that previously didn't have them.  JCPS' problem is society's problem, and like so many other issues, expecting the public school system to solve what no other entity seems willing to address is a fool's errand.  The violence that scars Jefferson County impacts students, teachers, and staff as they see people they care about murdered or wrapped up in the violence.  The psychological effects of this certainly don't help improve a student's learning.   

I'd also point out that discovering weapons in JCPS is not necessarily an indication that the problem doesn't exist in other districts.  Kentucky has had two mass shootings in schools.  Neither was in Jefferson County.  Our students and teachers in JCPS are highly attuned to guns and gun violence, which may lead to more actual reporting of weapons than in other districts.   

Yes, guns are a problem, but I doubt that the supermajority in Frankfort has any willingness to adopt common sense measures to help keep guns out of the hands of kids or adults at the risk of harming themselves or others.   And if my discussion with Jason Nemes was any indication, I doubt many of you are willing to risk damaging your relationship with your peers for the sake of laws to help reduce gun violence.   

STUDENT PERFORMANCE

JCPS has some of the best performing schools and some of the worst performing schools in the state, and it usually correlates with a number of factors that are out of the control of our schools, including poverty.  duPont Manual is one of our "best" schools, but that's mostly a factor of it being a selective school, not necessarily a reflection of the best or most motivated teachers.   JCPS' performance is also a reflection of the fact that compared to other districts in the county, many of the students who are most prepared for success attend private schools and thus don't contribute to the test scores of JCPS.  If you look at the best performing schools in JCPS, you'll find that typically the overall income level of the kids that attend coincides with school performance.  The fact that JCPS has had school choice AND neighborhood schools tends to make these distinctions between "great" schools and "bad" schools even greater than they might be in a typical county.   

In most Kentucky districts, minority populations are so low that achievement gaps don't play a factor into how the school system is perceived.   In Oldham County, where I went to school, you can see a distinct difference in the performance of poor and well-off students in Goshen's North Oldham High School.  Despite the fact that the gap between economically disadvantaged and non-economically disadvantaged kids' performance is over 30%, the school is still classified at the highest level of performance by federal guidelines, primarily because those students are such a small fraction of the population.  If you're going to hold JCPS accountable via an audit, why not hold EVERY district accountable, given the overall achievement gaps that exist.   What makes JCPS more important to analyze than the other districts you serve that have demonstrably "failed" (by your standards) some of their kids?   What exactly is the cutoff point for your concern given that every district you serve has significant achievement gaps?  

If the legislature ever manages to push school choice through, especially something that funds private schools, I'm curious how you're going to measure student performance.  Will every school that receives public funding be required to follow all the same guidelines as public schools? Will they be required to take students of all faiths, backgrounds, income levels, and abilities?  Will they be required to track demographic data related to their test scores to show where their own achievement gaps may pop up?  Or are you simply looking to further degrade public education by diverting that money to private interests for the sake of someone else's financial gain and/or religious dogma?   

And perhaps most importantly, what are you doing to uncover and fix the problems that are out of a school's control that feed into student performance?  Homelessness, lack of healthcare, hunger, poverty, incarceration, English-learner status, and other factors can play a huge role in the success of a child.  Our schools do what they can to assist in dealing with those problems, but can we not do better in Frankfort at addressing these issues?   

CONCLUSION

I think it's time that your delegation and your party decide what is actually important for Kentucky, and perhaps openly talk to Kentucky residents so that you may have honest feedback about what matters.   I watched as your party made SB150 and its related bills a priority this session, selling it with fear, propaganda, and out of state doctors and patients, while ignoring the voices of the dozens of KENTUCKY parents, students, and citizens in the annex and Capitol asking you to not push the bill forward.  I've watched as the CROWN Act, a bill championed by the Black students in JCPS you claim to care so much about, has failed to reach a vote on the floor twice.  

Decent public education should be a bipartisan concern minus the politics of attacking teachers and schools we've seen rising up over the last decade.  The conversations regarding public education should focus on the needs of students, teachers, and schools themselves and making sure they are met.   And these conversations should be honest, not driven by think tanks, propaganda mills, and outside interests that have no ties to public education.    

I would hope that we could at some point get to the same page on these issues.  Sadly, I feel that the perpetual politics of division and divisive issues that your party has embraced makes it nearly impossible to do so.  I'd ask you to do better, but as Jason Nemes has made clear to me, that's simply a naive view on my part.  

Of course, I'd love to be proved wrong.   

Sincerely,

Rob Mattheu

Louisville, KY  

Kevin Bratcher and Adrienne Southworth are my legislators.   

cc: Democratic Legislators from Jefferson County 

My E-mail Exchange With Josh Calloway About The Real Dangers To Our Kids.

Kentucky Representative Josh Calloway gave the speech shown above in support of Senate Bill 5 and his proposed amendments to it.  In it, Josh Calloway made it clear that he sees books as one of the number one threats to our children.   I decided to e-mail him about it that night.   Below is our exchange.  

My 1st e-mail: 

Josh,

I’m listening to your inane speech on the floor and I’m wondering why you never talk about the very real danger kids face from being shot at?  

What is your educational background exactly?  Your personal education?  

Your religion is not mine.  You have no right to impose it on me or pretend it applies to me.  

There are far greater threats to our kids than ones you invent.  As we’ve seen numerous times in Kentucky, our kids are at risk of being abused in Baptist Churches, Catholic Churches, and more.   

Focus on something that has real impact and stop your religious virtue signaling.  

Sincerely,

Rob Mattheu
Louisville, KY

Josh's response:

Rob,

        Perverting, distorting and deceiving the mind of a child is the greatest threat to our  children and our society.  The things you advocate for are part of the greatest threats our children face.  As long as I have breath, I will never stop fighting your agenda others that believe the way you believe.   It is evil, it is wicked and God is going to judge it.  Praying for you.

My response: 

Josh

I noticed you didn’t answer any of my questions or comment on the fact that not everyone shares your religious beliefs, nor are they applicable to state or federal laws.  

Again.  What is your educational background? Your own personal education? Have you sought any laws to reduce gun violence to protect children from actual threats? How about laws to address abuse within religious faiths, or even homeschools?    

My daughter’s school was locked down at least once due to gun violence nearby.  She had to participate in ALICE drills that traumatized some students.  We’ve had three mass shootings in Kentucky schools in rural areas.  We see gun violence every day on the news inside our schools, including among kids who are barely out of kindergarten.   And yet somehow that doesn’t seem to be part of the “greatest threats our children face.”    

Her middle and high school were the target of abortion protesters, who approached kids as they entered the school, preaching against abortion (which wasn’t performed in or anywhere near either school) and the LGBTQ community.  I don’t want people like that approaching my child because it’s clear their hearts are filled with hate.   

I’m curious if you’ve ever talked to someone who has had their church tell them that they’re evil because they’re gay and what it’s like growing up in that environment.   I’ve watched my niece suffer because of it.  I’ve also seen the impact that hatred has on friends, coworkers, and family members who are LGBTQ.  

If God is going to judge, then that’s up to him, not you.  Your role is to be a lawmaker and protect all children, not just the ones that meet your own narrow definition of the Christian faith.   If you can’t understand the pain that you and others like you inflict with your belief, then I suspect if there is a final judgement, you’re going to be facing a lot more questions than your colleagues who are trying to do unto others as they would have done unto them.   

I don’t have an agenda beyond making sure that the people I love are kept safe from religious intrusions masquerading as law.   I advocate for friends, family, and Kentucky citizens who have seen themselves attacked for simply existing by people who claim to follow a faith where attacking those on the margins of society was considered among the greatest sins.  

You as a body had the ability to help work to protect kids from actual threats.  You didn’t.  You had the opportunity to pass laws to protect children from discrimination.  Laws THEY helped create and promote.  And yet the CROWN Act died once again.   

Not everyone shares your faith, including fellow Christians.  Regardless, pushing your faith on others is the antithesis of what this country was founded on.    You weren’t elected to pray for people.  You were elected to make laws that better the state, not push the views of your church.  

Sincerely,

Rob Mattheu
Louisville, KY.

Josh's reply (includes his comments to my previous e-mail in parentheses): 

Rob,
        I feel as or more just in my cause in fighting against what you are fighting for.  One of us are severely blinded and will be judged by God.  I promise you I will search my heart to see if it is me and I ask you to do the same.  I have listed my answers to your questions below.  Thank you.

-----Original Message-----
From: Rob Mattheu 
Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2023 10:24 AM
To: Calloway, Josh (State Rep.) (LRC) <Josh.Calloway@LRC.KY.GOV>
Subject: Re: When are you going to protect kids from being shot at?

Josh

I noticed you didn’t answer any of my questions or comment on the fact that not everyone shares your religious beliefs, nor are they applicable to state or federal laws.  

Again.  What is your educational background? (Graduated 12th grade and got Safety and Health Management Certification from Eastern KY University)  Your own personal education? Have you sought any laws to reduce gun violence to protect children from actual threats? ( I support laws to reduce gun violence by trying to make it as easy as possible for good people to have guns instead of just the criminals) How about laws to address abuse within religious faiths, or even homeschools? ( I support the strongest penalties possible and would support legislation to even make punishments worse for anyone that would physically or sexually abuse a child) 

My daughter’s school was locked down at least once due to gun violence nearby.  She had to participate in ALICE drills that traumatized some students.  We’ve had three mass shootings in Kentucky schools in rural areas.  We see gun violence every day on the news inside our schools, including among kids who are barely out of kindergarten.   And yet somehow that doesn’t seem to be part of the “greatest threats our children face.”  ( More good people with guns could drive down these idiots doing stupid things with guns)  

Her middle and high school were the target of abortion protesters, who approached kids as they entered the school, preaching against abortion (which wasn’t performed in or anywhere near either school) and the LGBTQ community.  I don’t want people like that approaching my child because it’s clear their hearts are filled with hate.  ( look at the emails you send.  Filled with hate an contempt.  You feel like you are saving lives and so do they.  I do believe you can speak the truth in love, but either you are they are blinded and will be judged) 

I’m curious if you’ve ever talked to someone who has had their church tell them that they’re evil because they’re gay and what it’s like growing up in that environment.   I’ve watched my niece suffer because of it.  I’ve also seen the impact that hatred has on friends, coworkers, and family members who are LGBTQ.  (If what they believe is right then it's imperative they warn, if what you believe is right then they will have to answer, but someone is wrong.  I challenge you to ask them to search their heart and you do the same)

If God is going to judge, then that’s up to him, not you.  Your role is to be a lawmaker and protect all children, not just the ones that meet your own narrow definition of the Christian faith.   If you can’t understand the pain that you and others like you inflict with your belief, then I suspect if there is a final judgement, you’re going to be facing a lot more questions than your colleagues who are trying to do unto others as they would have done unto them.   (It's not up to me to judge, it is up to me to educate on God's standards and what the end result will be for those who don't follow those standards.)

I don’t have an agenda beyond making sure that the people I love are kept safe from religious intrusions masquerading as law.   I advocate for friends, family, and Kentucky citizens who have seen themselves attacked for simply existing by people who claim to follow a faith where attacking those on the margins of society was considered among the greatest sins.  (I have no agenda either.  (All I am doing is pointing out what God says.  (If I said I believed what God expected but didn't warn people of the consequences of not following his expectation, then I wouldn't be a true believer)

You as a body had the ability to help work to protect kids from actual threats.  You didn’t.  You had the opportunity to pass laws to protect children from discrimination.  Laws THEY helped create and promote.  And yet the CROWN Act died once again. ( I believe what we did and what I will continue to fight for does and will protect kids from actual threats.  Again, one of us is wrong.  I promise to search my heart to see if it's me, I ask you to do the same)  

Not everyone shares your faith, including fellow Christians.  Regardless, pushing your faith on others is the antithesis of what this country was founded on.    You weren’t elected to pray for people.  You were elected to make laws that better the state, not push the views of your church. ( the Bible teaches that God sets up governments and takes them down.  God put me here and I am to represent the people of my district, but first and foremost represent God. If I follow the principles of the Bible, I will make good policy economically, socially and morally.   Again, one of us is wrong.  I promise to search my heart to see if it's me, I ask you to do the same)

My reply:  

Josh,

I’ve spent the past 30+ years of my life searching my heart to get to where I am.  It’s a journey that took me out of Kentucky, away from people who looked like me, talked like me, worshipped like me, and thought like me.   In college I was exposed to a broad range of people and ideas and came out better for it.   

It was pretty enlightening and helped me to grow out of my childish fears of other people.  It also taught me that people in the minority in Kentucky internalize a lot of their own sorrow, anger, and fear to those they know won’t listen or understand.  I completely understand it.  It’s easier to get along than try to buck a system that doesn’t care much about you.  

To address a few of your points:

1. Good people with guns don’t solve gun violence.  As we’ve seen in countless school shootings, including most disturbingly in Uvalde, police and people with guns freeze up, get they’re too late to stop much of the carnage, or are NOT the ones to stop the shooter.  Our teachers and administrators don’t need to be packing heat, nor do I imagine many of them want to.  And frankly, I’d worry about the ones who are enthusiastic about it.   

2. You’re correct that I have contempt for the majority of the people in your party. It’s based on the GOP’s contempt for good government, professional medical opinions, the agency of women and families, educators, science, books, and those who don’t look, love, worship, or come from the same place as them.  This session was a colossal waste of resources to hurt a tiny fraction of Kentucky while doing little to help anyone who needs it.   I’m sure that many of you were pleased with yourselves or pleased someone in your party or on your donor rolls.  But you hurt Kentucky.  

3. The people that came to my daughter’s school were an offshoot of a radical anti-abortion group.  They spent their days making women miserable regardless of the reason they may have been to the clinic.  As your body heard last year, there are indeed people who desperately want their child whose pregnancies need to be terminated for many reasons.  Those protesters aren’t interested in helping those women or easing their pain.  They want to increase it. 

4. I am not concerned with God’s judgement.  I’m more concerned that people here on Earth are taken care of and treated with dignity and respect.  If God’s days are spent moving you and your GOP colleagues to create the heartache and misery you’ve created this session, there are better places to be than in God’s company.  If a loving God exists, I suspect he’s not spending his days worried about the same things you are.   

5. It is not your responsibility, duty, or business to “warn” anyone you do not know.  “Love” is a two way street.  If your version of “Christian” love makes others feel hated, then you’re not loving, and it’s YOUR fault, not theirs.  My gay friends, coworkers, and family tend to be much more loving, giving, and provide better outreach to those who are marginalized in our society.  They have no “agenda” except living a happy and productive life.  

6. Your job as a legislator is not to warn others about your religious beliefs.  Within your district you no doubt have Christians, Jews, Agnostics, Muslims, Atheists, Wiccans, Pastafarians, Unitarians, and more.  The purpose of legislation is not to favor one group’s beliefs over another.  It’s quite alarming to think that so many of you feel you’re the only people in the room when you speak.  Your Christian upbringing and my Christian upbringing led us to very different places.  I grew up Catholic, but don’t think we should be banning meat sales on Friday, or divorce.  JFK gave a wonderful speech in his campaign for presidency about the need for separation of Church and State.  Your faith can guide your decisions, but ultimately laws must be made that favor no one faith or belief.  It’s what our 1st Amendment is steeped in.  

7. These bills didn’t protect kids from harm, nor was that the spirit in which they were intent ended.  LGBTQ minors exist.  Parents, doctors, teachers, and many of us in the community want to help them lead safe and happy lives. None of this was on anyone’s radar until your party started to play it up on a national scale through the active network of astroturf groups and propaganda mills.  It got attention, it scared the base, and ultimately it’s doing little but harming a small but vulnerable group of people.  

8.  the Bible is not the US or state constitution.  It provides no legal protection to you or any other believer.  The same is true for the Torah, Koran, Book Of Mormon, and any other religious text.  If you can’t separate doing what’s right for all of your people through any lens but imposing your own faith belief on others through law, then you really need to pursue another line of work.  Your faith can guide you in what is right or wrong, but it shouldn’t keep others who worship differently from accessing healthcare, or other basic rights simply because it makes you uncomfortable under your faith.   

Thanks for responding and reading these. 

Josh's reply

Rob, 

     Thank you for your response.  It is evident that we disagree on what the truth actually is, not just in regard to religious view, but actual, factual, foundation truth upon which everything is established.  It also seems evident that I am established and unmovable in what I believe and that you are as well.  I want to help people and protect people and you express that you do as well. As I’ve said before, one of us is wrong. The gravity of either one of us being wrong has enormous consequences.  I have and will continue each day to search my heart and motive and do what I know to be right and I ask you to do the same.  If I said I believed what I believe and was passive about it, then I would be a hypocrite, because what I believe and embrace truly deals with life and death matters. I have very rarely, maybe never, taken time to have this much dialogue with someone who criticizes so harshly what I believe and then publicizes and is critical of what I say personally to them. With that being said, I have no problem saying these things in public as I believe them to be the truth.   Thank you for taking time to read what I sent to you and when I said I will pray for you, I sincerely meant that.  The seriousness of what we are discussing is definitely not a flippant matter and I know that you would agree with me on that. Thanks again. 

Daniel Cameron's Education Plan -- Phase 2

Daniel Cameron recently released his education plan.  However, in the interest of appealing to Trump voters, who stop reading anything after the headline, Cameron was forced to leave off some items in the interest of brevity.   Luckily, a source in the campaign was able to get me part two of Daniel Cameron's education plan, and it's truly a bold vision for the future.

Daniel Cameron has a bold plan for moving Kentucky's educational outcomes forward for the betterment of our state and our most precious natural resource, expendable workers.   To that end, Daniel Cameron proposes these bold steps.   

Daniel Cameron Will Forever End Teacher Worries About a Fully Funded Pension Plan

Teachers have wasted far too much time and energy worrying about the money being there for their pensions.  I'll fix that by eliminating the pension plan and replacing it with a copy of a Dave Ramsey lecture on 8-Track, 10 Kentucky Lottery Crossword Scratch-Offs, and $7 in free play at their local historical racing machine location.    

Daniel Cameron will Put an End to Gender Identity Ideology Once And For All 

Under Daniel Cameron, our teachers will no longer be required to subscribe to woke gender ideology.  Instead, our kids will be taught that with education they can be anything they want to be.  Our boys can grow up to be football players, attorneys, lumberjacks, police officers, soldiers, and incels.  And girls will see the sky is the limit for them as they grow up to be teachers, nurses, housewives, mothers of ten, and anything that Barbie could be before the 1970s.   

Daniel Cameron Will Never Put Your Kids In Danger of Learning Loss Again 

When Andy Beshear closed down the United States because of the COVID virus and forced us all to wear masks, he denied our children valuable classroom learning time that set them back for decades.   That will never happen under a Cameron administration.  Daniel Cameron believes a strong immune system is essential to Kentucky's well being, and as your governor, Daniel Cameron will NEVER close schools during a pandemic, require your child to get vaccines, or wear a piece of cloth that denies them precious oxygen a developing brain needs.   After all, Mitch McConnell didn't become the most powerful Senator in the country by taking a stupid polio vaccine.   

Daniel Cameron Will Keep Your Kids From Harmful Books 

Our children are inundated with descriptions and imagery of graphic sex, porn stars, marital infidelity, and more, and not just in news about Donald Trump.   Under a Cameron administration, you can rest assured that your school's library will contain only books that Daniel would read to his own child.  These include works by classic children's authors like Kirk Cameron, Dinesh Dsouza, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and God.   By reducing our libraries to a single shelf, we free up valuable space for Cameron's next initiative.   

Daniel Cameron Will Restore Discipline With His School To Prison Pipeline Internships

Andy Beshear thinks detention should be like the Breakfast Club, full of liberal celebrities breaking the rules in a library full of books people want to read.  Under a Cameron administration, we'll use the innovations of Texas and private prison companies throughout the world to create a detention that is both punitive and teaches kids a trade.  By removing books from libraries and replacing them with workstations, we'll be able to train any unruly child in valuable skills that will pay huge dividends for the companies they serve.  Under our School To Prison Pipeline Internships, bad children will learn to be telemarketers, customer service representatives, and to make products that we legally can't pay non-incarcerated people to do.  The best part is 80% of their wage will go back to the school to pay for fat pay raises for SROs. 

Daniel Cameron Will Make Sure Our Kids Learn History and Patriotism 

Andy Beshear encourages our educators to say the United States was bad because it had slavery, and that the United States is supposed to be some sort of woke melting pot of various faiths that aren't Judeo-Christian (Heavy on the Christian, light on the Judeo).     Under a Cameron administration, our children will learn how our nation was founded by Jesus and the Founding Fathers as a monument to the freedom granted by Christianity, and that slavery was just a helpful guided free internship that taught people valuable skills. They will learn to respect our flag by hugging, kissing, and fondling it like our greatest President ever, Donald Trump.  

Daniel Cameron Will Eliminate Teacher Shortages And Fund College Scholarships     

Sometimes it's all in how you frame the problem.  Do we have a teacher shortage or a student surplus?   Daniel Cameron remains committed to his pro-life stance and knows that nothing makes you value life more than realizing how quickly it can be snuffed out.  Under the Cameron Plan, Kentucky's New Educational Hunger Games will provide a robust competition that will allow competitors in a single elimination tournament to test out their skills with firearms, weapons, and survival in a monthly "last kid standing" competition for a full tuition scholarship to a local college.   Loser's families will receive a free consolation prize of a share of stock in a local aluminum plant.  

Daniel Cameron Will Encourage Teachers To Reduce Test Scores Through Incentives and Rewards

Daniel Cameron knows how important math and reeding scores are for our youth, and that's why he's set a goal of having 95% of our students proficient in reeding and 127% of our kids proficient in math by 2027.  He will accomplish this by public punishment of any teacher who does not accomplish this goal for their kids in Kentucky's new Education Stockades.   Every year on Reckoning Day, non-performing teachers will be shackled into these stockades and students will be allowed to throw all the fruits and vegetables at them we've removed from those gross healthy school lunches.    

Daniel Cameron Will Create an Ambitious Rebranding of the Governor's Scholars and Related Programs

Daniel Cameron recognizes that the names "Governor's Scholars" and "Governor's School" are impersonal and carry little prestige.  Following the inspiration of his mentor Donald Trump, the Cameron administration will now refer to all of these students as Cameron's Kids.  And in order to prevent brain drain from the state, all Cameron's Kids will sign a lifetime contract to stay and work in Kentucky under penalty of 10 years in jail.   Meanwhile, Cameron will ensure that these students are rewarded for their scholarly endeavors by covering 5% of the cost to any two year educational institution they choose in the state.  

With this bold vision for education, there's no way that Kentucky can fail.  For the future of your kids and Kentucky, vote Daniel Cameron for Governor.