LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Fayette County Public School's Superintendent Manny Caulk gave his annual State of the Schools address Wednesday morning.
The event was held at the Lexington Center in downtown Lexington. It was attended by Fayette County educators, administrators, and supporters.
The district proudly announced that this will be the first year in school history their student bodies will be more diverse than not.
He discussed the national teacher shortage, saying that Fayette County Public Schools is a destination for many Kentucky teachers.
"We're not as im---or--we're not as impacted by those shortages as maybe other communities are so we are blessed in that sense. But we know we're going to continue to do more to make sure we attract the very best," Caulk said.
Given the country climate on safety and shootings, as well as the recent conviction of a former Dunbar student for terroristic threats towards the school, the superintendent said that they have been using a 10 point plan to address the roots of the problem.
"We want to reassure our community that we continue to use that investment to make our schools safe. Not only for our children but for the adults who care for them. And so what we've done this past year, we hired 58--a total of 58 law enforcement officers, we have full-time nurses in our middle school, I'm sorry, in our high schools and looking to expand that down. We also have added more mental health professionals, so as we begin this upcoming school year, that ratio now is 300 students to one mental health professional," said Caulk at the State of the Schools address.
He also said that Fayette County is fully staffed for every bus route for the first time in a decade.
In addition, Caulk said that the district supports Senate Bill 1, the School Safety and Resiliency Act.
"Though our community has taken steps, bold steps to make sure our children are safe and those that care for them are safe, we want to make sure children across the Commonwealth are safe as well," said Caulk.
