EC Corner

Hey KFTC!!! I’m Madison Johnson, a new addition to our Executive Committee! My journey from Jefferson County Chapter Member to Voter Empowerment Contractor to now being one of your At-Large Representatives has been nothing short of exciting and informative! As the upcoming election season approaches, be aware that in addition to our presidential race, ultra-conservatives within the KY Legislature have successfully pushed two proposed constitutional amendments onto the ballot! Specifically, the potential passing of Amendment 2 would negatively change the course of Kentucky’s future drastically! Here are some highlights on the impact this would create:

1. Every fiscal school year, the KY budget awards an allotted amount of money per enrolled child to their respective public school to cover education costs. Conservatives are using the guise of “school choice” to try to convince folks that it’s only fair all students receive a school voucher that can be applied to the parents’ preferred method of education—private institutions. Public dollars belong to public schools!

2. The KY Supreme Court struck down the initial 2021 private school voucher program as unconstitutional, so conservatives are coming back to AMEND our constitution in order to serve the interests of the rich.

3. Public education is the primary mode of education in KY as it is free and accessible to all. There are very few private schools in KY, concentrated in metro areas. “The result will be tax dollars leaving these rural districts entirely, with local residents’ state taxes paying for private education elsewhere.”

4. They want you to believe this amendment would open up new opportunities for your child who attends public school to explore private schooling. According to KY Policy, “65-90% of voucher costs go to subsidize families already sending their children to private schools or planning to do so—a group whose average household income in KY is 54% higher than public school families. Providing vouchers to that group will easily cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars based on the number of KY students already in private school.” 

5. Private schools who almost always hold special interests, further blurring the line between church and state. Some of the private schools who would receive money from this program have extreme beliefs or have been accused of discriminating against students. Public schools are barred from discriminating aging students because of characteristics like their religion or sexuality, but no such rules cover private schools.

6. The experiences of other states who have already enacted similar legislation have proven this is an utter failure!

Stand with Kentuckians for the Commonwealth by voting NO on Amendment 2!

Sources:

• https://kypolicy.org/the-impact-of-diverting-public-money-to-private-school-vouchers-in-kentucky/ 

• https://kypolicy.org/kentucky-school-funding-returns-to-pre-kera-levels/ 

• https://www.epi.org/blog/vouchers-undermine-efforts-to-provide-an-excellent-public-education-for-all/ 

• https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/19/politics/arizona-private-school-vouchers-invs/index.html

Madison Johnson

KFTC Executive Committee member