LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Democratic Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman was in campaign mode Monday, denouncing a ballot measure that would allow Kentucky taxpayer money to go to students attending private and charter schools.
The issue affects Coleman, a former teacher and public school administrator who has played a leading role in his campaign against the state election proposal. If a simple majority of Kentucky voters approve it next month, the measure would remove constitutional barriers that have prevented the state’s Republican-dominated Legislature from using public funds to support private education.
Speaking at a union hall in Kentucky’s largest city, Coleman warned of dire consequences for public schools, especially in rural areas, if the measure wins approval.
“We simply do not have the resources to fund two separate education systems,” Coleman said. “But we shouldn’t do that either, because public dollars should stay in public schools.”
With no statewide elections, the school choice measure has become the most intensely debated issue of the fall campaign in the Bluegrass State. Both parties have run TV ads, run campaigns and accused each other of spreading disinformation on the issue.
Supporters of the measure, known as Amendment 2, include Republican U.S. Senator Rand Paul. They say the measure would allow more parents to choose schools that best suit their children — the kind of educational freedom they say is available in many other states.
“Every child in every neighborhood, of every color, class and background, deserves a school that will help them succeed,” Paul said in a statement Monday. “Educational freedom, as proposed by Amendment 2, ensures that students can learn in the best way possible. environment and break the cycle of poverty that too often prevents children from achieving their potential.”
Supporters say the increased competition would result in better student performance.
“The dynamics created by choice motivate the public system to improve,” said Jim Waters, president of the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, a free-market think tank based in Kentucky. “This is needed in Kentucky’s public education system.”
He pointed to the results of statewide testing as an example of why he thinks the current system is flawed. More than half of public school students who took the exams failed to reach proficient or distinguished levels in math, reading and science, he noted.
Advocates said the push to spend public money on private schools would mainly benefit low- and middle-income parents, who currently cannot afford to send their children to such schools. Coleman pushed back against this argument, predicting that vouchers would not fully cover private school tuition.
“So where does the difference for families who can’t afford to go to private school… come from? That’s not the case,” she said, predicting that most of the voucher money would go to children already in private schools.
Republican lawmakers put the measure on the ballot. The proposal would not establish a policy on how the funds could be diverted. Instead, it would clear the way for the Legislature to consider developing such a policy to support students attending private schools.
Coleman warned Monday that if the measure passes, it would give the Legislature a blank check in support of private education, diverting large sums of taxpayer dollars from public schools.
“We must reject Amendment 2 because Kentucky’s public schools – which serve 90% of our students – deserve nothing but the very best,” she said.
Supporters of the measure point to increased funding for public schools as a clear sign of lawmakers’ commitment to public education. However, the amounts were far less than what Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear had proposed.
The issue of school choice is especially sensitive in Republican-leaning rural Kentucky, where public schools are the lifeblood of the community and typically among the largest employers. A product of rural Kentucky, Coleman aimed her message at small-town voters as she spoke in Louisville.
“It’s no secret that rural schools are suffering the most,” the lieutenant governor said. “Many rural communities do not have private schools. So the funding that would otherwise go to these communities will instead be concentrated on private schools in other parts of the state.”
The issue has been debated in Kentucky for years as Republicans expanded their legislative majorities. Previous efforts to expand school choice were thwarted by legal challenges, leading lawmakers to push for the ballot measure to amend the state constitution.
“What they want to do is change the rules, and that’s exactly what Amendment 2 wants to do,” said Allen Schuler, who represented the Kentucky Retired Teachers Association at the event in Louisville. The group opposes the ballot measure.
A GOP-backed initiative to provide tax credits for donations to support private school education was rejected by the Kentucky Supreme Court in 2022. Currently, the state constitution only allows taxpayer money to fund “regular schools,” which state courts have interpreted as public.
Coleman was elected twice as part of a consultation with Beshear, who also strongly opposes the ballot measure. She said Monday that the popular Democratic governor also plans to speak out against the measure ahead of Election Day. Coleman said she will continue her campaign efforts.
“I will go anywhere, anytime and speak about the harm Amendment 2 will do to our children, our schools and our communities,” she said.
