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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin told a group of pastors that he has every intention of following through with his campaign promise to push for a charter school law in the state, despite Republican lawmakers' past struggles to gather more support on the issue.
On Tuesday night, Bevin told a crowd of roughly 100 pastors and community members at Christ Temple Christian Life Center in Louisville that he does not want to back down, The Courier-Journal reported (http://cjky.it/1OwJsMa).
"If we were willing to talk about these things to run, we're sure as blazes not going to back off them now that the people have chosen us to represent them," Bevin said.
Bevin pledged in his Dec. 8 inaugural address to push charter school legislation as a way to give parents and students alternatives to failing schools.
Charter schools are publicly funded and held accountable for student performance but free from many requirements to which traditional public schools are held.
Republican lawmakers have for years attempted to pass legislation for charter schools, but the notion has in recent years failed to gain traction in the Kentucky House, controlled by Democrats.
The Kentucky Pastors in Action Coalition has in previous years supported bringing charter schools to Louisville as a way to improve the lives of African-American and low-income families through access to quality education.
With Bevin as governor and a shifting political makeup in the Kentucky House, the coalition hopes this year will be different.
"If you're going to go to war, you need a general . to lead the charge," said Pastor Jerry Stephenson of Midwest Church of Christ.
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Information from: The Courier-Journal, http://www.courier-journal.com
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