By Patrick Crowley
The Cincinnati Enquirer

FORT THOMAS - For the last few years, state Sen. Katie Stine, a local Republican, has been telling her General Assembly colleagues about inequities in Kentucky's school funding formula.

Come Thursday morning, she plans to show them.

Stine will lead a tour of senators through two schools in her district and hometown - Highlands High School and Woodfill Elementary - that she and school officials say are in dire need of state money for repairs and upgrading. The legislators are in Northern Kentucky today and Thursday to attend committee meetings and learn more about the region's successes, needs and problems.

"I've been telling them about the problems, so some senators have agreed to a walk through two schools," Stine said. "I want to show them the work that needs to be done at these facilities."

Stine and other Northern Kentucky lawmakers have long contended that Kentucky's Education Reform Act of 1990, known as KERA, does not provide enough state money to suburban districts such as Fort Thomas and many others in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties. Fort Thomas' funding has dropped dramatically since the enactment of KERA, which was designed to provide more equity among schools across the state.

The effect, however, has been schools in rural areas that don't have the property-tax base of suburban districts have had their funding increased while schools such as Fort Thomas, Beechwood in Fort Mitchell, Boone County and others have less money coming from the state.

Fort Thomas and Beechwood have been recently forced to put tax increases on the ballot to avoid deep budget cuts and staff reductions.

"Once the senators see the condition of the schools and what needs to be done, hopefully they'll have a better understanding of what we've been talking about," Stine said.

E-mail pcrowley@enquirer.com