LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Marty Pollio, the superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools, was grilled on the district's masking policy and school safety officers at the Kentucky capitol on Tuesday.

But Pollio was more interested in talking about teacher pay. He got to decide what he wanted to present to Kentucky lawmakers about progress and ongoing challenges at the capitol. At the same time, the questions he received from state lawmakers revealed their top priorities.

Pollio's presentation was made before the Joint Education Committee. He spoke about some district accomplishments, like changing how students are assigned to schools and upgraded technology, with each student now receiving a laptop enabled with wireless internet.

Pollio also highlighted three ongoing challenges: increased poverty within the district, learning gaps created by the pandemic and a teacher shortage.

Of the three, he said the teacher shortage poses the biggest challenge, and that financial incentives are the key to overcoming it.

"There's a whole lot of issues, but one we can tackle is teacher pay," Pollio said. "We can tackle that as a state, and I think we need to do that."

State lawmakers opted not to implement dedicated teacher pay raises last legislative session.

Lawmakers had their own priorities during the meeting. They commended Pollio's efforts to build more JCPS schools, but some criticized the district's decision to continue masking as a result of Jefferson County's classification as a "red" county for COVID-19.

Pollio admitted it's a decision he struggled with.

"It has not been easy," he said, adding that "every decision has been excruciating on recommendations that I send to the board."

Pollio defended his decision, saying he's following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), noting that masks will be optional as soon as Jefferson County moves out of the red zone.

Sen. Max Wise, R-16, asked Pollio if the district is trying to skirt the law requiring a school safety officer on every campus. Pollio assured him that the district is following the law and working with the state's school security marshal.

"I don't know, Senator Wise, if there is a future where we will ever see 165 police officers in Jefferson County," he said.

Pollio went on to say that addressing the teacher shortage should be lawmakers' primary focus.

Lawmakers have already passed a historic amount of education funding this past session, but Pollio said he hopes to see another increase in the upcoming session. 

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