As Jefferson County Public Schools closed again Thursday due to teacher “sickouts” to protest in Frankfort, Warren County Public Schools remained open, instead sending a small contingent of three teachers to lobby lawmakers.

Kim Coomer, a local teacher and president of the Warren County Education Association, told the Daily News that was no accident.

“We want to be in our classrooms,” she said, adding she’s encouraged the district’s teachers to contact their lawmakers, just “not on school time.”

Describing her conversations with Warren County Public Schools Superintendent Rob Clayton, Coomer said they were both in agreement that the best place for teachers to be is in the classroom.

“I think there’s a time and a place for what I would call aggressive lobbying of your legislators,” she said when asked about the use of sickouts for advocacy. “I think it’s too much right now.”

It’s a different advocacy strategy compared to one used by teachers at JCPS, the state’s largest school district, where sickouts closed schools again Thursday for the sixth time in two weeks.

Teachers are opposing some controversial education-related bills, including House Bill 525 and House Bill 205. Those bills, respectively, would restructure the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System Board of Trustees and establish tax credits for donors to private school scholarship programs.

However, in a statement released Wednesday evening, a bipartisan group of Jefferson County lawmakers insisted that both bills were dead and couldn’t be passed during this legislative session “in any way, shape or form.”

JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio shared the statement on his Twitter account.

“After speaking with leadership from both chambers, we want to restate that neither HB 205 nor HB 525 will be rolled into any other bill and be passed this session,” the lawmakers’ statement read in part. “Furthermore, there is no time left to pass HB 205 or HB 525 on their own this session.”

Coomer said opposition to both bills spurred the group from Warren County to make their voices heard in Frankfort.

But she also insisted the issue is broader than opposition to any one piece of legislation.

“We’re advocating on behalf of our students. We want the lawmakers to preserve funding and to continue to increase funding for public schools,” she said, adding the concern isn’t even about pension benefits or salary increases. “This is about us fighting for money for our students.”

State per-pupil funding is now about $4,000, the highest it’s ever been. But advocates contend that hasn’t kept up with rising education costs. At the same time, the state has cut spending on textbooks and teacher training.

Thursday is the final working day for lawmakers before a 10-day period for Gov. Matt Bevin to issue vetoes. The last day of this year’s legislative session is March 28, when the General Assembly adjourns indefinitely, known in Frankfort by the Latin phrase “sine die.”

Despite this year’s session entering its final days, Coomer urged educators to keep up the pressure on lawmakers.

“We are going to continue to advocate for our students and public education,” she said. “Those have always been our priorities.”