The Kentucky General Assembly is one step closer to approving a state budget after the Kentucky Senate passed its version of the spending plan Thursday night.
The budget was approved by a 24 to 7 vote, with the spending plan now headed to a House-Senate Conference Committee to iron out differences. An expected drop in tax revenue and a corresponding rise in need for social services brought on by the coronavirus were reflected in the budget.
The Senate version of the budget would provide a one percent pay raise for state employees in the first year and an additional one percent the second year, with the raise contingent on hitting the forecasted growth numbers. The budget would also increase the rainy day fund to 525 million dollars compared to 392 million dollars proposed in the house budget. The Senate budget would provide $426 million dollars for the first year of the Kentucky Teacher Retirement System, with $437 million proposed for the second year.
The Senate budget proposal would provide $4,161 per pupil in SEEK funding, with six dollars going toward textbooks.
The Senate budget also provides all the money needed to give teachers the raises proposed in the governor’s budget, with the only restriction a one percent pay raise for non-teaching school employees such as bus drivers and custodians.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
