LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentucky’s Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman has a background in education and serves as Secretary for the state’s Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. So she relishes these chances to visit with students.
“Amazing to see how hard the kids are working in the summer, and that these teachers have committed even more of their time and energy,” Mrs. Coleman said towards the end of her visit to Liberty Elementary in Lexington.
Coleman was here to present the school’s principal with a check for $40,000 from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. The money, which was earmarked during the 2020 legislative session for schools across the state to use, will be used to improve safety on Liberty Road.
“This ceremonial first check represents more than new equipment. It represents the high priority the Governor and all of us on Team Kentucky have on making our roads safer and making sure we are always an education-first administration,” Coleman said.
The money will be used to expand a large portion of Liberty road to add a fifth lane for motorists, and a walking path on both sides of the road. Lexington Universal Academy will be getting some upgrades as well, as that too sits on one of Lexington’s busier roads (Nicholasville), thus making it a little more dangerous for buses, and students who walk or ride their bikes.
Coleman said she and Governor Beshear are pleased with where we are as a state in regards to COVID-19 and our vaccination rate, before conceding that we could be doing more. She also had a different idea when it comes to teaching Critical Race Theory, which has become a hot-button topic across the nation.
“I refuse to give in to a distraction that was meant to divide and solve a problem that doesn’t exist. What I would hope is that our elected officials would focus on hunger, homelessness, poverty, and addiction. These are things our kids deal with every day, in almost every school in Kentucky,” she stated.
