School choice measure framed by supporters and foes alike as pivotal moment for Kentucky education

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Prominent Kentucky leaders on both sides of a school choice issue voting measure view the issue as a pivotal moment for education and are making their final pitches before the start of early voting Thursday.

Voters will decide whether to amend the Kentucky Constitution to authorize tax dollars to support students attending private or charter schools. Supporters include Republican U.S. Senator Rand Paul and his wife Kelley. Governor Andy Beshear and Lt. Governor Jacqueline Colemanboth Democrats, are leading opposition to the measure.

Coleman, a former teacher and public school administrator, warns of dire consequences for public education — from funding to athletics — if the proposal known as Amendment 2 wins voter approval.

“I feel the weight of this moment, along with my fellow educators across Kentucky,” Coleman said at an event for opponents of the proposed constitutional amendment.

The measure’s proponents say greater school choice will not change the commitment to public education. Rand Paul says it has the potential to change the lives of young people who are now struggling academically by giving their parents more options to place them in schools that best fit their needs.

“What I see is wasted potential,” the senator said during a town hall Tuesday evening.

Currently, Kentucky’s constitution only allows taxpayer money to be used to fund “common schools,” which state courts have interpreted as public.

The Kentucky amendment is one of three school choice measures that will go before voters in November. A measure in Colorado would create a constitutional right to school choice for K-12 students. In Nebraska, voters will decide whether to repeal a new state law that funds private school education with state dollars.

A majority of states offer some type of state-supported program to help cover the costs of private schools.

With no office up for grabs and the state seen safely in the Republican Party’s presidential column, the school choice measure is Kentucky’s most talked about election issue — and a new testing ground for a controversial issue with far-reaching implications for the future of school finance at national level.

Three days of early voting begin Thursday in Kentucky. Voters can vote again, without the need for an excuse, on Friday and Saturday ahead of Tuesday’s election. Secretary of State Michael Adams urged Kentuckians to vote as early as possible due to expected high turnout Tuesday.

Kentucky’s supermajority Republican legislature has put the school choice measure on the ballot. The proposal would not establish policy on how taxpayer funds could be diverted. Instead, it would clear the way for lawmakers to consider developing such a policy to support students who attend private or charter schools. Possible options include tax credit scholarships, education savings accounts, or vouchers.

“There is nothing about a school voucher program that will make public education better,” Coleman said.

Opponents of the measure say public dollars spent on education should only go to public schools.

Supporters say the proposal is not an attack on public schools. Voter approval of the measure would lead to innovations that would help public schools as well as private or charter schools, Paul said.

“Competition makes all schools better,” the senator said.

The lack of a funding mechanism for charter schools has prevented them from opening in Kentucky.

Meanwhile, Kentucky Republicans are expected to maintain their overwhelming majority in the House in Tuesday’s elections. The recent death of a Republican senator, Johnnie Turner, has set off a battle among 11 write-in candidates hoping to fill the seat in eastern Kentucky. Any votes for Turner and another candidate who withdrew from the race will not count.

Turner was known for his staunch support of the coal industry and other causes in his Appalachian district. He passed away last week from injuries suffered in September when he jumped aboard a lawnmower into an empty swimming pool at his home.