State Senator Steve Meredith has deleted his Twitter account after receiving criticism for his tweet disparaging teachers running for political office.
Sen. Meredith (R) tweeted that “40% of high school grads can’t read or do math. Yes, let’s see what they can do with state government.”
His tweet was in response to a story on WKYT.com about the high number teachers (40) running for political office in Kentucky this year.
K105 attempted to reach Sen. Meredith late Wednesday night, but had no success. Earlier on Wednesday, though, he told WDRB, “The point I was trying to make was that teachers should go ahead and run for office. But I want them to know it’s not as easy as it looks.” He also told the media outlet that he regrets giving the impression that he does not respect teachers.
According to WDRB, Sen. Meredith was likely referring to a Legislative Research Commission report from 2000 that says 40 percent of the state’s working age population can either not read at all or have very limited to moderate literacy levels.
Sen. Meredith voted for Senate Bill 151, the pension reform bill unpopular with educators, late Thursday night in Frankfort. The pension reform bill was added onto a sewer bill, shocking many teachers who voiced concern that the General Assembly would pass the pension reform measure without public input.
The bill awaits Gov. Matt Bevin’s signature.
Sen. Meredith said that the pension plan is a “fair compromise,” but that “almost immediately after voting, I started getting attacked and vilified by teachers.” Adding, “It’s frustrating.”
The first-term senator said he deleted his Twitter account because “Social media is just getting too toxic.”
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com or 270-259-6000
