TEACHER RALLY

• WCPO video of rally • Photos from Monday's protests • Ky. teachers cry for relief on health insurance • Teachers do the math, protest cost of health coverage • Teachers' rallies show anger throughout Ky. • Editorial: Time for Ky. legislators to focus What do you think? Will Northern Kentucky teachers who joined thousands statewide in protesting the governor's health insurance plan be successful in lowering health-care costs for state employees? E-mail us at letters@enquirer.com; fax (859) 578-5565; or send a letter to Enquirer Editorial Page, 226 Grandview Drive, Fort Mitchell, KY 41042

While not all schools or districts were closed for the occasion, teachers and supporters in most communities in Kentucky staged some form of protest or demonstration.

In Louisville, about 4,000 people gathered along the riverfront, while nearly 1,000 teachers and supporters stalked the state Capitol in Frankfort.

Teachers and state workers in Paducah wore black and blue, while supporters in Pikeville protested in front of the local paper.

"We're making a difference, and we need to come together and be heard," Peggy Carter Seal, a teacher and chairwoman of the Woodford County Education Association, said at a rally in Frankfort.

Fletcher's state health insurance proposal has been heavily criticized by opponents - including teachers, public school workers and state employees - since he announced it Sept. 7.

The state health plan covers 229,000 workers, retirees and dependents. There are about 35,000 retirees in the system.

Kentucky Education Association officials have voted to go on strike Oct. 27 if, among other things, the current insurance plan is not restored. KEA officials also voted to hold Monday's protests in conjunction with the start of the state's health insurance open enrollment period.

Fletcher last week suspended open enrollment after he announced plans to call the General Assembly into a special session to tackle the issue.

The governor was out of town on a weeklong economic development trip to Europe. Fletcher spokesman Jason Keller said the governor was being updated while he's away.

In Pikeville, about 400 teachers gathered at a downtown park before marching to the Appalachian News-Express building. An editorial criticizing the teachers was headlined, "Suck it up."

At the Great Lawn in downtown Louisville, thousands gathered to protest the plan.

Many carried signs with messages, including "Got insurance? We don't," and "At this rate, no one in Kentucky will have teeth."

Melanie Walker, a Louisville art teacher, carried a sign that read, "Quality health care DOA. Resurrect it now." She wore all black, including a lace veil.

"I just thought of how sad this is," she said. "It's a kind of death. Teachers won't want to work in this system."

Paul Stahler, superintendent of Woodford County Schools, said lawmakers need to improve the plan. "This is a crisis in my mind," Stahler told reporters. "... I've been in Kentucky since the early '70s, and I've never seen the morale the way it is right now."