The day before a teacher “sickout” continued Thursday in Jefferson County Public Schools – leaving the state’s largest school district closed for the second day in a row – Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis held out hope that students would be back in school.

Teachers are using the tactic to oppose House Bill 205, a bill that would award tax credits to those donating to private school scholarship programs. Although the measure stalled Tuesday, opponents worry it could be attached to other legislation and that it could bleed millions of dollars from the state’s coffers if passed.

Speaking to the Daily News on Wednesday during a stop in Bowling Green, Lewis said “my hope is that we can get back to the place where our kids are being served,” adding his thanks to the vast majority of Kentucky’s school districts for remaining open.

“It’s my sincere hope and prayer that that’s the case in Jefferson County tomorrow,” he said.

But that hope was dashed Wednesday evening, when the school district announced the decision to call off classes Thursday.

“Due to significant teacher absences and the inability to safely cover a larger number of classes with substitute teachers in many of our schools, all @JCPSKY schools will be closed Thurs., March 7, 2019,” the district announced from its Twitter account.

The Meade, Oldham and Bullitt county school districts also canceled school Thursday due to a high number of teacher absences, news outlets reported. The number of absences in Fayette County Public Schools appeared normal Wednesday evening, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Gov. Matt Bevin also weighed in with the following tweet: “Tomorrow is a school day in Kentucky… School children should be in school… Learning…”

Recently, six Kentucky school districts – including the two largest systems – were forced to close after hundreds of teachers called in sick to oppose a bill that would change how the state’s pension fund is managed, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.

During a meeting Wednesday of regional superintendents at the Green River Regional Educational Cooperative, Simpson County Schools Superintendent Jim Flynn wondered if the tactic was being overused. Although he said he was aware of the need to take a strong stance, “we know that we need to do that very judiciously,” he told his colleagues. Communities want to support teachers, he added, “but if we overuse such a strategy, we risk losing that support.”

Flynn, who will become president of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents later this year, also read a statement from the group.

“Superintendents do not support the use of sickouts as a tool for legislative advocacy, and with the best interests of our students in mind we urge teachers not to participate,” he said.

The KASS statement acknowledged a need for lawmakers to work more closely with education stakeholders. However, it urged school personnel to make their voices heard in Frankfort, instead of “negatively impacting students and their families through sickouts,” Flynn said.

Lewis’ comments to the Daily News came after speaking at the annual state Educators Rising conference for middle and high school students interested in teaching as a career. This year’s conference was held at the Knicely Conference Center in Bowling Green.

“I’m excited that they’re interested in pursuing a career in teaching,” he said, stressing the importance of not just recruiting more teachers, but “compassionate and talented young people like them to go into teaching to serve our kids.”