– Mary Garrison/Tribune-Courier || Marshall County fared well in road construction funds from the state budget, keeping road projects like the one above going.

State budget passes, Marshall County slated for $200 million in road projects

Budget slashed by
$1 billion, school
flex focus funds
reduced

By Mary Garrison
Tribune-Courier Features Editor
mgarrison@tribunecourier.com

MARSHALL COUNTY – After a six-day special session in Frankfort, the Kentucky General Assembly has overcome an impasse between the House of Representatives and the state Senate to pass the 2010-12 budget. And while rumors of a partial government shut-down rumbled throughout the state, lawmakers have managed to avoid such a situtation.

“The Governor, the House and the Senate — Democrats and Republicans alike — were able to work together in a bi-partisan fashion to accomplish our two-year spending plan,” said Rep. Will Coursey.

Coursey said the $17.3 billion bi-annual plan includes a 3.5 percent cut for most state agencies in the first year, with an addition 1 percent reduction in the second year. However, Coursey said some departments are, in fact, cushioned from the brunt. Kentucky State Police, public defenders, prosecutors, community based services departments and economic development will not experience the same reduction in funding.

Coursey said the plan includes no new taxes and no cuts for Medicaid.

“There will be some efficiency measures,” Coursey said. “We’re going to streamline operations under a plan supported by the Department of Health and Family Services.”

For every dollar spent by the state, he said the federal government matches $3 for Medicaid programs.

Coursey said another priority in this year’s budget session was education. The General Assembly agreed on a plan that will maintain 177 instructional days and not reduce Seeking Education Excellence in Kentucky funds for school districts.

Marshall County School System’s Finance Officer Jill Morris said the district will receive within $2 of last year’s SEEK budget, at $3,868 per student. However, flex focus funds were cut across the board an average of 2.5 percent. Of those grant based programs, Morris said the family resource centers took a funding cut for the first time, and the Read to Achieve program took the hardest hit with a 16 percent reduction in funding.

“We’re just going to have to tighten our belts like anyone else,” Morris said. “We’ve been pretty creative about working with what we’ve got.”

Coursey said the budget also allows for the replacement of category five schools — those in the most dire need of reconstruction — across the state.

“We’re going to do a study to evaluate how these schools are rated,” Coursey said. “We’ve got several schools out there that may currently be rated a category three or four when they should really be at a five. Likewise we might have some facilities rated a category five that maybe shouldn’t be. So, we’re going to take a closer look at that.”

And while the numbers across the nation sound grim, Coursey remains optimistic. Marshall County will be the focus of some new projects in the upcoming biennium.

“Marshall County fared well in road construction,” Coursey said. “We’re getting $200 million for improvements.”

Among those projects, Coursey said, is a $3 million U.S. Highway 68 improvement plan that will include the construction of left turn lanes at Marshall County High School and Christian Fellowship School.

Another $165 million will be devoted to the Cadiz-Aurora bridge project, and $21.6 million will benefit the interchange at Ky. Highway 348 and the Purchase Parkway.

“These are not just blank check projects,” Coursey said. “These were agreed upon by both chambers and the Department of Transportation.

“Not only will these improvements address safety concerns,” he continued, “they’ll increase our economic development opportunities.”

In addition to budget cuts, Coursey said the state is working to streamline existing operations with $300 million in efficiency measures. Among those, Coursey said state contracts will be reduced by $166 million, and fewer political appointees will conserve another $20 million.

“The main thing is we’re living within our means,” Coursey said. “A lot of states are hurting right now, some much worse than us.”