Mom, Wife, Sister, Daughter, Retired Superintendent, Special Assistant to KY Education Commissioner. KIDS FIRST ALWAYS! Tweets are my own.
Kentucky, USA
Joined March 2018
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Anna Shepherd retweeted
Students at the Kentucky School for the Blind are putting science into practice in a new greenhouse designed to support accessible, hands-on learning, independence and career exploration.
Read more about the greenhouse: kentuckyteacher.org/news/202…
ALT Kentucky School for the Blind senior Ben Adams, left, helps cut the ribbon for the school’s new greenhouse
Anna Shepherd retweeted
Sources: 1. Kentucky Administrative Regulation 13 KAR 2:120 — Performance Funding Formula apps.legislature.ky.gov/Law/…
2. University of Kentucky — Finance Presentation and Performance Funding Weights uky.edu/trustees/sites/www.u…
3. Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education — Performance Funding Review and Analysis cpe.ky.gov/ourwork/performan…
4. University of Kentucky — FY2026–27 State and Student Support Budget ubo.uky.edu/budget/state-and…
5. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — Approved State Directed Payments medicaid.gov/medicaid/manage…
6. University of Kentucky — FY2025 Audited Consolidated Financial Statements ufs.uky.edu/sites/default/fi…
Anna Shepherd retweeted
My Dearest Darlings,
Ever wonder why #KYHigherEd’s comprehensive universities are struggling financially while UK and UofL continue collecting the lion’s share of performance funding?
In part, the answer is Kentucky’s own funding formula. And the preferential treatment of UK and UofL extends well beyond that formula.
Consider the advantages Kentucky has built into its higher education funding system:
1.) Bachelor’s degrees: UK and UofL receive approximately 1.67 times the performance weight awarded to comprehensive universities for degree production.
2.) Low-income graduates: A degree awarded to a low-income student at a research university receives approximately 2.35 times the weight of the same outcome at a comprehensive university.
3.)First-generation graduates: Research universities receive approximately 1.67 times the weight.
4.) STEM and health degrees: UK and UofL receive approximately 1.54 times the weight.
5.) Student progression: Research universities receive higher weights when students reach 30, 60, and 90 earned credit hours.
6.) Credit-hour production: The research-university sector receives additional weighting on earned credit hours, alongside the formula’s course-level and disciplinary adjustments.
7.) Enrollment: UK and UofL receive approximately 1.34 times the weight for full-time-equivalent enrollment.
8.) Campus facilities: Research universities receive approximately 1.36 times the weight for eligible building square footage. Kentucky rewards institutional infrastructure through a formula supposedly designed to improve educational performance.
9.) The small-school adjustment: Kentucky’s two largest public universities are included in an adjustment calculated from 10% of their individual historical funding bases. The six comprehensive universities instead divide an adjustment calculated from their combined base.
10.) Protected funding: The formula removes small-school adjustments and applicable hold-harmless amounts before distributing the remaining performance resources.
Feeling greedy and guilty, @uofl, @UKYpres and @UKYmonday yet?
11.) Medicaid directed payments: UK and UofL’s qualifying academic medical providers participate in a separate Medicaid payment arrangement. CMS approved a 2026 program with a ceiling exceeding $2.3 billion across eligible university providers.
12.( Teaching-hospital reimbursements: Qualifying university teaching hospitals receive graduate medical education and related supplemental Medicaid payments unavailable to institutions without comparable hospital operations.
13.) Targeted appropriations: UK and UofL also receive separate state appropriations for designated medical, research, and institutional projects outside the ordinary performance funding distribution.
Look at the results. According to UK’s own financial presentation, UK and UofL received 69.9% of FY2026 performance funding, compared with 30.1% for all six comprehensive universities combined.
@CPENews September 2026 analysis found that eliminating sector-based weights would redirect approximately $46.1 million in existing performance funding to the comprehensive universities. That includes $13.05 million for @wku , $11.9 million for @eku , $9.75 million for @nkuedu , and $7.8 million for @murraystateuniv.
Why does #Kentucky allow @universityofky and @uofl to double-dip…I mean Thirteen layers of preferential treatment… overlapping funding advantages while Kentucky’s comprehensive universities struggle to balance their budgets?
Don’t play stupid tomorrow or Wednesday, my dearest darlings. We are watching.
Another bonus: Despite what Bill Payne says, people understand math. And glossy explanations about how “it’s a formula” aren’t cutting it when the formula itself is the problem.
Under 13 KAR 2:120, UK and UofL are included in the so-called small-school adjustment, despite being Kentucky’s two largest public universities. Each receives an adjustment calculated from 10% of its own 2017–18 funding base, while the six comprehensive universities receive equal shares of an adjustment calculated from their combined base. Those amounts are protected before the remaining performance funding is distributed.
Then come the preferential weights. A bachelor’s degree at UK or UofL is weighted 1.67 times a degree at a comprehensive university. Even facilities square footage receives a 1.36 multiplier for research universities. Meanwhile, just 30% of the funding formula is tied to operational measures, including facilities, institutional spending, and enrollment.
And these aren’t merely theoretical advantages. UK’s own financial presentation shows that research universities received 69.9% of the FY2026 performance funding pool despite accounting for 53.4% of adjusted net general fund appropriations. The comprehensive universities accounted for 46.6% of those appropriations but received only 30.1% of the performance pool.
Kentucky law directs the model to recognize differences in institutional missions and costs. That’s a legitimate policy consideration, but it doesn’t automatically justify every multiplier or explain why the current distribution is appropriate.
Telling #Kentuckians that UK and UofL receive more because the formula says so is circular reasoning. Explain why a low-income graduate at UK receives 2.35 times the funding weight of one at Morehead State. Explain why square footage receives preferential treatment.
And explain why Kentucky’s two largest universities are included in an adjustment called the small-school adjustment.
Anna Shepherd retweeted
What’s the solution and ask?
Equal treatment. Let #KYhigherED-all universities-compete and compare fairly with the same standards. Let #Kentucky see true success or where we fail.
Nothing more. Nothing less. Equality for all #KYHigherEd
My Dearest Darlings,
Ever wonder why #KYHigherEd’s comprehensive universities are struggling financially while UK and UofL continue collecting the lion’s share of performance funding?
In part, the answer is Kentucky’s own funding formula. And the preferential treatment of UK and UofL extends well beyond that formula.
Consider the advantages Kentucky has built into its higher education funding system:
1.) Bachelor’s degrees: UK and UofL receive approximately 1.67 times the performance weight awarded to comprehensive universities for degree production.
2.) Low-income graduates: A degree awarded to a low-income student at a research university receives approximately 2.35 times the weight of the same outcome at a comprehensive university.
3.)First-generation graduates: Research universities receive approximately 1.67 times the weight.
4.) STEM and health degrees: UK and UofL receive approximately 1.54 times the weight.
5.) Student progression: Research universities receive higher weights when students reach 30, 60, and 90 earned credit hours.
6.) Credit-hour production: The research-university sector receives additional weighting on earned credit hours, alongside the formula’s course-level and disciplinary adjustments.
7.) Enrollment: UK and UofL receive approximately 1.34 times the weight for full-time-equivalent enrollment.
8.) Campus facilities: Research universities receive approximately 1.36 times the weight for eligible building square footage. Kentucky rewards institutional infrastructure through a formula supposedly designed to improve educational performance.
9.) The small-school adjustment: Kentucky’s two largest public universities are included in an adjustment calculated from 10% of their individual historical funding bases. The six comprehensive universities instead divide an adjustment calculated from their combined base.
10.) Protected funding: The formula removes small-school adjustments and applicable hold-harmless amounts before distributing the remaining performance resources.
Feeling greedy and guilty, @uofl, @UKYpres and @UKYmonday yet?
11.) Medicaid directed payments: UK and UofL’s qualifying academic medical providers participate in a separate Medicaid payment arrangement. CMS approved a 2026 program with a ceiling exceeding $2.3 billion across eligible university providers.
12.( Teaching-hospital reimbursements: Qualifying university teaching hospitals receive graduate medical education and related supplemental Medicaid payments unavailable to institutions without comparable hospital operations.
13.) Targeted appropriations: UK and UofL also receive separate state appropriations for designated medical, research, and institutional projects outside the ordinary performance funding distribution.
Look at the results. According to UK’s own financial presentation, UK and UofL received 69.9% of FY2026 performance funding, compared with 30.1% for all six comprehensive universities combined.
@CPENews September 2026 analysis found that eliminating sector-based weights would redirect approximately $46.1 million in existing performance funding to the comprehensive universities. That includes $13.05 million for @wku , $11.9 million for @eku , $9.75 million for @nkuedu , and $7.8 million for @murraystateuniv.
Why does #Kentucky allow @universityofky and @uofl to double-dip…I mean Thirteen layers of preferential treatment… overlapping funding advantages while Kentucky’s comprehensive universities struggle to balance their budgets?
Anna Shepherd retweeted
This month we are recognizing Bullying Prevention Awareness Month. By promoting awareness and proactive strategies, communities can reduce bullying, support victims and create more inclusive environments for all children.
#BullyingPreventionAwareness
#NoMoreWelfareWeights #100% #Unreal
If your child attends #EKU, #WKU, #NKU, #MurrayState, #MoreheadState, or #KentuckyState-or if you’re a proud graduate of one of these institutions-you need to be paying attention to performance funding working group and read this post:
The @universityofky and @uofl are starving Kentucky’s six comprehensive universities of performance funding through a formula that gives research universities preferential weighting.
Kentucky’s performance funding model is supposed to reward student success, degrees awarded, and measurable outcomes. Yet the formula gives UK and UofL preferential treatment while Eastern Kentucky, Western Kentucky, Northern Kentucky, Murray State, Morehead State, and Kentucky State compete under different weights.
According to the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education’s own September 2026 analysis, eliminating those sector-based weights would redirect $46.1 million to the six comprehensive universities without spending another taxpayer dollar.
That means $11.9 million more for @eku , $13.05 million for @wku , $9.75 million for @nkuedu , and $7.8 million for @murraystateuniv. Combining equal weights with a revised small-school adjustment would shift approximately $65 million in existing performance funding to the comprehensive universities.
And look at what has happened to @moreheadstate and @KyStateU . Both received ZERO dollars in performance funding for 2026–27, while UK received $44.3 million and UofL received $20.7 million.
CPE’s analysis shows that eliminating preferential sector weights would give Morehead State an additional $2.4 million and Kentucky State $1.2 million. Combining equal weights with a restructured small-school adjustment would increase those amounts to $8.57 million for Morehead State and $4.14 million for Kentucky State.
Kentucky has created a performance funding system for two public universities while starving the comprehensives. How is that a fair way to fund student success?
And if you’re wondering why UK keeps building, building, and building, look at the financial incentives. Kentucky’s funding formula rewards institutions partly on the basis of their facilities’ square footage, and research universities receive a 1.36134 weighting compared with 1.0 for comprehensive universities. The formula also includes a separate small-school adjustment. In other words, the state rewards certain institutional inputs alongside actual student outcomes.
A student at Murray State is worth just as much as a student at UK or UofL. Their degrees, academic achievements, and educational opportunities should not be devalued simply because they attend a comprehensive university. Kentucky’s institutions deserve a fair performance funding formula that recognizes their distinct missions without automatically privileging research-university status.
Tomorrow, October 27, CPE meets to discuss performance funding. If the General Assembly continues preferential research-university weights, ask your legislators why they supported a formula that directs millions more to UK and UofL instead of Kentucky’s comprehensive universities.
And ask them one more question: Why should a student at Murray State, EKU, NKU, Morehead, Western, or KSU count for less than a student at UofL or UK?
You can watch the meeting here: cpe.ky.gov/aboutus/meetings.…
#NoMoreWelfareWeights
Anna Shepherd retweeted
📣 Kentucky Principals & Assistant Principals!
We would love to have you to join us for the 2026–2027 Kentucky Principal Network! 🍎📚
Connect with fellow school leaders from across the state for meaningful conversations, collaborative problem-solving, and fresh ideas to support the schools of today and tomorrow!
📅 Upcoming Network Dates:
🟠 November 6, 2026
🟠 March 12, 2027
🟠 ED Camp: January 13, 2027
💡 What Can You Expect?
✅ Engaging roundtable discussions
✅ Opportunities to collaborate and problem-solve
✅ Real-world strategies for school leadership
✅ The latest updates from KDE
✅ Support from the P3 Team and Kentucky's Educational Cooperatives
✨ EILA credit will be provided!
Whether you've already joined us or are looking to get involved, we'd love to have you at our next session!
📲 Register today: forms.gle/xGsv5XoakxmATt8f7
#KentuckyPrincipalNetwork #SchoolLeadership #KentuckyEducation #ProfessionalLearning #KEDC
Anna Shepherd retweeted
The new superintendent of Science Hill Independent, Matt Cook, is focusing on building more professional learning communities to improve teaching in the district.
Read more about Cook: kentuckyteacher.org/features…
ALT Science Hill Independent Superintendent Matt Cook stands with 2 Science Hill students at the district’s annual Constitution Day Parade in September.
If you live in district 88 Georgetown & Fayette Counties you have the BEST representing YOU! My daughter leads and listens with heart! She is about getting things done for her constituents first and foremost. #Grossl88 #VoteGrosslNov3 #ProudMomma
Anna Shepherd retweeted
It's easy to tell a student to use feedback and try again. It's a lot harder when the feedback is about our own teaching.
Maybe a student tells us the directions were confusing. Maybe a lesson we spent hours planning falls flat. Or maybe we realize halfway through an activity that students aren't learning what we thought they would.
We can get defensive, blame the students, or keep pushing through because we worked hard on the plan. But sometimes the better response is to admit something isn't working and figure out what needs to change.
Imagine a teacher saying, "You know what? That explanation wasn't very clear. Let me try that again."
There's no loss of authority in that moment. The teacher is still responsible for the learning, but students get to see an adult take responsibility for improving their own work.
We shouldn't expect students to be comfortable with feedback if we treat feedback about our teaching as something to defend against.
ALT On a dark navy background, cream and pink text reads: “If we’re asking students to take risks, accept feedback, and keep improving, we should be willing to do those things ourselves.” Below is teal woven fabric repaired with colorful stitching. By Brad Weinstein.
Anna Shepherd retweeted
The ability to stay calm, polite, and honest, even when people upset you, is a superpower.
Anna Shepherd retweeted
During the recent Superintendents Webcast, leaders with the Kentucky Department of Education provided information about new reporting requirements under House Bill 257 (2026).
Read more about the webcast: kentuckyteacher.org/news/202…
ALT Superintendents Webcast graphic with laptop and play button
Anna Shepherd retweeted
A great way to start our Friday! 🚀
Our District Leadership Team spent the morning welcoming students to RCHS! We love starting the day with our Rocket Learners and Leaders!
ALT RCHS Friday Welcome - Staff Welcoming Students
Anna Shepherd retweeted
Members of the Kentucky Board of Education approved amendments to Kentucky’s accountability system regulation during their recent meeting.
Read more about the meeting: kentuckyteacher.org/news/202…
ALT Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) Vice Chair Holly Bloodworth, right, speaks on local indicators of quality during the board’s discussion at KBE’s October 7 meeting.
