Better Kentucky plan directs $127 million to fund school construction projects

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Schools in 13 Kentucky counties are receiving a total of $127 million to fund construction and renovation projects as part of the Better Kentucky Plan, which will direct $1.3 billion to schools, expanding internet access and delivering clean drinking water and quality sewer systems across Kentucky.

The Kentucky School Facilities Construction Commission has voted  to recommend funding for projects in the following districts: Hart, Martin, Floyd, Boyd, Bellevue, Mayfield, Jackson, Grant, Breckinridge, Bath, Cumberland, Pendleton and Carter.

The funding to build and renovate schools is part of the $1.3 billion Better Kentucky Plan, which will create 14,500 jobs while expanding broadband, delivering clean drinking water and building new schools. Gov. Beshear and Kentucky lawmakers reached a bipartisan agreement at the close of the 2021 General Assembly to invest federal relief funds in infrastructure.

The Kentucky School Facilities Construction Commission voted to make an offer of assistance to 13 school projects around the state. The school districts will receive the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds this summer, contingent on allocation by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

The ARPA money is being allocated as gap funding. The state education commissioner needs to approve the offers and then the local school districts must accept or decline the offer.

Each school district in Kentucky must maintain a standing facilities plan. Those plans are prioritized at the state level by the School Facilities Commission. If one of the chosen school districts does not accept the allocated funding, the funds will be applied to the next project on the state’s priority list.

The following school districts and funding amounts have been conditionally approved by the commission:

Information about the Better Kentucky Plan, including grants for broadband expansion, cleaner water and sewer, school facility upgrades, and vocational education center renovations, can be found at https://governor.ky.gov/BetterKy/.