{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Local teachers rally at state capital Monday &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"ImsigHZxYb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/local-teachers-rally-state-capital-monday\/\">Local teachers rally at state capital Monday<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/local-teachers-rally-state-capital-monday\/embed\/#?secret=ImsigHZxYb\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Local teachers rally at state capital Monday&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"ImsigHZxYb\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Group-of-teachers-protesting-3x.jpg","thumbnail_width":468,"thumbnail_height":394,"description":"Among the estimated 8,000 people who packed the Capitol complex in Frankfort Monday to rally in support of education funding, where a number of active and retired teachers from area school districts. Bill Conn is a fifth generation teacher, who is currently in his 13th year at Williamsburg Independent School. Conn said he was happy with the turnout Monday, especially given that most school districts in the state were out on spring break. \u201cIt was very empowering,\u201d Conn said. \u201cIt was amazing to have thousands of fellow citizens that cared so much for proper funding for public education. As a teacher, it is good to know that people really care about public education.\u201d Conn said that he was very happy that the state legislature funded transportation, the SEEK formula, and the youth service centers, which he noted are absolutely vital to education in eastern Kentucky. Conn said he has mixed feelings about the pension reform bill. He was happy that the state legislature didn\u2019t change the cost of living adjustment for retired teachers, like his mother, and that they left the pension system largely intact for current employees except for the fact that they can\u2019t accrue additional sick days after this year and put them towards their retirement. Conn said he was disappointed to see the legislature moving new teachers into a 401-A retirement plan, which is similar to a 401-K retirement plan. \u201cI worry about teacher retention. I disagree with that because teachers still yet don\u2019t get social security,\u201d Conn said. \u201cAt the same time I worry about the future of our pension, and then I also worry about the cost. For those currently in the system, how is that going to get funded? I worry about those two ideas going forward.\u201d Conn noted that the issue of pension reform might not be over either given planned lawsuits by Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear and others. \u201cEven with the current changes, we may have to go back and do this again,\u201d Conn added. Lee Hensley is a retired educator with the Whitley County school district, who spent 34 years in education as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and central office administrator. This legislative session, she has traveled to Frankfort on average once a week along with other local retired teachers to keep up with what is happening with discussions about the pension system and funding for education. \u201cI was not up there for myself. I was up there for the teachers because they have to be in the classroom. They can\u2019t leave the classroom all day to go up there to collect information and try to understand it,\u201d she noted. Hensley said that she doesn\u2019t think a lot people realized the magnitude of the pension reform, which she said could have been a lot worse. Like Conn, one of her biggest concerns with the pension system is the moving of future teachers to a 401-A retirement system rather than a traditional pension system. \u201cI am really concerned that this is going to be a great detriment to the future of education in Kentucky. People have to feed their families. People have to know that they are will have a retirement that they can survive on,\u201d she noted. \u201cWhen you take that away, even though someone loves the profession, they have to be realistic. They have to ask will I be able to survive as a teacher even though I want to do that so much? Will I be able to make it? They are not guaranteed the pension like those of us already retired. The new hirers are going to be under that not as stable program.\u201d Hensley said she knows some people in college, who are majoring in education but are thinking about changing their majors because they just don\u2019t feel like the education profession is stable and secure. \u201cIt is really sad,\u201d she added. Hensley said she has another concern about how the pension program for current teachers will be funded, especially since the new hirers won\u2019t be paying into the pension system. \u201cIt is a complex situation and we are going to lose some really capable people in the future. Education is too important. It is important to the state. It is important to families,\u201d Hensley said. \u201cYou are dealing with people. Not only dollars, but with people. They do have to pay their bills. They are not asking for more pay. They just want that pension that was promised.\u201d She added that the pension is the only thing that retired teachers in Kentucky have because they can\u2019t pay into social security. \u201cThe pension is all they have. It is not like they are making a lot of money and are going to have all these investments,\u201d she added. \u201cMost people are spending the money they make as teachers raising their family and paying their bills.\u201d Hensley gives Bevin credit for putting a huge amount of money into the pension system. She still thinks the state needs a dedicated source of funding for the pension system. Hensley noted that a lot of people were really hurt by how the legislature passed the pension bill by adding it onto an unrelated bill late in the session, even though legislators told her this is just how it is done. \u201cI know they are saying that, but it is hurtful because there were other options that could have been considered,\u201d Hensley said. Janet Logan, a reading specialist at Oak Grove Elementary, is a 26-year veteran of the classroom. Logan said she was one of a large group of educators from the PreK-6 school that included teachers from each grade and group, including the administration. \u201cIt was almost surreal. It was unlike anything I have been a part of before,\u201d Logan said. \u201cIt was very inspirational to see that many fighting for one cause.\u201d Logan said unlike what was reported by many national media outlets, Monday was not about pensions and the teachers did not walk out or go on [&hellip;]"}