Legislator Says State Shouldn't Fund Schools That Discriminate

FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY - State funding for a new pharmacy school building at the University of the Cumberlands should not be included in the budget if the private school doesn't stop discriminating against gay students, a legislator warned last night.
"We should not be budgeting bigotry," Sen. Ernesto Scorsone, D-Lexington, told colleagues before voting on the $18.1 billion, two-year budget. Scorsone is the only openly gay member of the General Assembly.
The university made headlines last week when it expelled a student for disclosing on a personal Web site that he is gay.
In an unusual arrangement, the proposed budget includes $10 million of state debt to construct a pharmacy building on the school's Whitley County campus. The budget also includes $1 million to fund scholarships for students attending the college's yet-to-be created pharmacy program.
"If the University of the Cumberlands does not change its policies and practices, we will have a state benefit that is only available to heterosexuals," Scorsone said.
Republican Senate President David Williams of Burkesville, who pushed for the funding, said he didn't know the facts of the specific case involving the student, so he didn't know whether it could affect funding for the school.
"I understand that Senator Scorsone is very sensitive to gay issues since he is the only openly gay senator in Kentucky," Williams said.
The $10 million building is to be funded out of a $100 million pool of money titled the "infrastructure for economic development fund for coal-producing counties." Money to repay the bond issuance would come from coal severance taxes.
from The Lexington Herald-Leader