Devin Katayama

A fourth candidate has filed to run for the Jefferson County school board’s district 7 seat, which includes eastern parts of the county.

Marty Bell recently resigned from his position as chief academic officer with Indiana's Greater Clark County Schools and he spent years in JCPS serving as a deputy superintendent.

Jefferson County will receive state funding for the fifth year in a row to study and implement early childhood education initiatives in the area.

Gov. Steve Beshear announced this week the 21 counties that would receive some of the state’s $600,000 worth of grants to implement the Community Early Childhood Councils program.

A quarter of Kentucky’s children continue living in poverty, despite making gains in education and health indicators according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2012 Kids Count Data Book released this morning. 

The annual report ranks overall child welfare by measuring 16 indicators in four subjects: economic well-being, family and community, health and education factors.

After reviewing task force recommendations for over two months, Mayor Greg Fischer says he supports the consolidation process between the Metropolitan Sewer District and the Louisville Water Company, but a full merger is not set in stone.

The Lexington Herald-Leader has announced cuts to staff and employees are being forced to take a second week of furloughs this year.

The paper reported Monday that it plans to cut the equivalent of 10 positions including two unnamed executive committee members. Others cuts come from the general administration, circulation, news and operations divisions.

A task force created by the Pritchard Committee for Academic Excellence will meet at the end of this week to begin a year-and-a-half effort to address how to retain an effective teaching workforce in Kentucky.

The Pritchard Committee Team on Teacher Effectiveness will include nearly 30 members made up of legislators, education professionals and other advisors.

The panel will look more broadly at policy issues preventing retention of strong teachers, said Cindy Heine, Pritchard’s associate director.

While online retailer Amazon prepares to open a major distribution center in Southern Indiana, some say the company could soon begin offering customers in the Louisville region same-day delivery.

Until recently, Amazon has avoided charging sales tax to customers in many states where it had no physical presence. Now, the company has given into that fight and has made deals in states like Indiana to begin charging that tax in the next couple years.

The executive director of Kentucky’s Pritchard Committee for Academic Excellence is now blogging for a national publication and he’ll be keeping readers abreast of changes the state undergoes as it continues to roll out its new accountability system.

Stu Silberman said he’ll try to post content twice a week on Education Week’s website EdWeekly.org and he hopes to share best practices and challenges that the commonwealth faces.

Ford Motor Company has announced the second major recall this week of the 2013 Escape SUVs.

Ford officials are telling owners of the new Escape not to drive the vehicle until dealers can fix a fuel line that may crack and cause engine fires.

There has only been one such incident with a customer and no injuries were reported.

The recall is for 2013 Escapes with 1.6 liter four-cylinder engines. Officials say dealers will pick up the vehicle up and drop off a loaner car until repairs are finished.