A pro-school choice group is calling for an apology from a Jefferson County Public Schools board member who correctly suggested that teacher protests over school choice legislation could once again shutter Louisville schools and push back graduation.
After The Courier Journal broke news on Friday that the Trump administration is pushing Kentucky Republican lawmakers to back a controversial private school scholarship tax credit bill, JCPS board member Chris Brady tweeted his displeasure with the proposal.
“Wanna postpone graduation to June or July? If so, then try to pass this…,” Brady tweeted, including the “Pile of Poo” emoji in his tweet. “You think a couple dozen yellow scarfs are a lot, just wait until you see a few thousand red shirts.”
Brady was alluding to a string of teacher “sickouts” that shuttered his district six times in a two-week period last year, causing JCPS to push back graduation a full week.
Dozens of private school parents and students donned yellow scarves during a pro-school rally in January at the state Capitol in Frankfort, where public school teachers decked out in red shirts also protested last year.
But Brady’s tweet was unclear to some, who viewed the school board member’s comments as a threat to withhold graduation if the legislation passes.
Angelina Petty, a JCPS parent and member of the Kentucky Parents Network, which supports a scholarship tax credit bill, said in a statement released by RunSwitch PR that Brady “threatened to postpone graduation if school choice is passed in Kentucky.”