By Katie Perkowski

First-term state Sen. Kathy Stein named one goal as her top priority: education. 

“Our money needs to go toward education,” said Stein, D-Lexington. “Education is the key to Kentucky advancing. I’m talking about cradle-to-grave education.”

Stein, who held a seat in the House for the 75th district for 12 years, said one of her biggest accomplishments during that time was her involvement with the Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP). The program extended health coverage to the children of Kentucky’s working poor, she said.

According to the KCHIP Web site, there are more than 67,000 children in Kentucky that qualify for health care through the program or through Medicaid, but are not enrolled.

Stein said her other major accomplishment was her involvement with House Bill 1, a bill approved in 1997 which changed the way postsecondary education operates.

The bill also established “Bucks for Brains,” a program in which public- and private-matched funds are invested in postsecondary institutions. 

It also gave UK the mandate to become a top-20 research university by 2020. Stein said she thinks UK President Lee Todd is doing an excellent job with the mandate.

Stein said because of the state’s budget having a shortfall, money is tight and she has not been able to do anything to work toward lowering the cost of college education. 

“We need to realize that unless we fund education, particularly higher education, Kentucky families can’t afford college education,” she said. “We are discouraging people from behavior that we want by the legislature not supporting needs of the university.”

Stein said she has worked closely with Todd with university issues, and she thinks he has done “an excellent job under the circumstances.”

One of Stein’s goals is to move Kentucky away from being a state of lung cancer, heart disease and diabetes. She said studies show the best way to curve cigarette and tobacco use is by a higher taxation rate.

“I filed an amendment to higher the tax on tobacco products from 30 to 70 cents. It was not successful,” said Stein. She said she remains optimistic for this amendment passing in the future.

Stein said that a bill she fought for and supported but did not pass was the Fairness Amendment that would prohibit discrimination under the civil rights bill for gays and lesbians. 

“Because we live in Kentucky, we are getting more and more support for it but it’s one of those big issues, obviously.” She added that it is going to take some educating and advocating to get the bill passed.

Stein said the best part about what she does is meeting with grassroots constituents and going to classrooms, whether they range from kindergarten to medical school classes.

“That is the most satisfying thing. It encourages me to go on when I think things get pretty dismal, and I learn so much from those kindergarten and medical students,” she said.