FRANKFORT-- For the second time in a week, a sick-out forced Jefferson County Public Schools to close.  The Capitol was awash in red as Jefferson County teachers let their voices be heard.  They're unhappy about Senate Bill 250, sponsored by Republican Julie Raque Adams. 

The Senator from Jefferson County explained it is not a state bill and would only impact the Louisville region. "Part of the reason that it's strictly a Jefferson County bill is because Jefferson County has had its challenges, lets say. Particularly the most recent challenge, the prospect of the state overtaking our school system."  SB 250 would give the superintendent more power when it comes to purchasing. However, it's the part regarding principals that has many teachers and parents upset.  Raque Adams explained, "This allows principal selection by the superintendent. There's been a lot of conversation, I mean tons of conversation about how this will dismantle the SBDM [Site-Based Decision Making] process. In fact, it doesn't do that at all. The SBDM process is fully intact in this. The only difference is that the superintendent will have the ultimate authority."

Kellen Garland, a principal at Hebron Middle School in Bullitt County says sometimes the superintendent doesn't know what is best. Garland, who also serves on the board of the Kentucky Association of School Councils, recalled an incident that happened to him. "My previous superintendent and I, I'm just as guilty as he was, thought I would be a great principal at one particular school. So he and I talked and he said I think you'll do great there. And so I went through, I applied and they did select me for an interview. I come into that interview room, and I sat there, and within five minutes, I knew I was very much out of place."

However, Raque-Adams says in a district with so many schools, the superintendent should have this power. She argued,   "I do think that probably even high than 95 percent of principal selection is really well done, but we do have those instances in a school district that's over a hundred thousand kids and 160 schools where it may be appropriate to let the superintendent have that final say."

Opponents say that isn't necessary. Garland countered, "Superintendents of their designee now chair the Site Based Council Meetings that hire principals, so they are involved."  That sentiment was seconded by Brent McKim, the President of the Jefferson County Teachers' Association, who said "Under the current law, the superintendent has the authority to appoint a principal in a struggling school."  When the time for a vote came, the found themselves in the minority; the bill passing 10 to 6, with one pass.  It will now go to the House of Representatives for a vote.