NORTHERN KENTUCKY (WXIX) – Kentuckians will vote on the Second Amendment, one of the most important issues of this election cycle that could impact public and private education in the commonwealth.
Several public forums were held in northern Kentucky this month, where voters heard both supporters and opponents explain their thoughts on the ballot initiative.
The Second Amendment, also known as “school choice” by its supporters, allows the Kentucky General Assembly to create policies that use public funds to help finance non-public schools’ education costs. That’s what you do. This means that public and private schools are funded by the state.
The Second Amendment requires voters to indicate on their ballot whether they agree or disagree with the following:
To give parents more choice in their children’s educational opportunities, amend the Constitution to allow the General Assembly to provide financial assistance for the cost of educating students outside of the general (public) school system from kindergarten through grade 12. Do you agree with that? Kentucky as mentioned below?
The General Assembly can provide financial support for the education of students outside the regular school system. The General Assembly may exercise powers by law notwithstanding Articles 59, 60, 171, 183, 184, 186 and 189 of this Constitution.
If the Kentucky Constitution were passed, Article 7 would be ignored.
What does Fix 2 do? What doesn’t it do?
Even if a majority of Kentucky voters vote in favor of Amendment 2, it does not mean that a “school choice” program will be created immediately, but rather that Kentucky lawmakers will be required to create policy. It just opens the door.
Jim Waters, director of the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, wants to be clear on this point.
“The Second Amendment removes legal barriers to passing and funding school choice policies in Kentucky, as it does in most other states; It doesn’t create it, it doesn’t include policy, but it does allow Congress to create and fund policy without it being overturned by the courts,” Waters explained. “A yes vote is not a vote for vouchers, but it is a vote for Congress to decide what policies work here.”
Although it has not yet been decided how a “school choice program” would work, Waters said other states bordering Kentucky have school choice policies that include both charter schools (public) and private schools. It is said that there is.
“We’re going to look at what other states have done, particularly programs that have been successful, particularly programs that have helped address some of the state’s serious education deficiencies,” he told FOX19 NOW.
Although the amendment does not create policy, Waters said it could remove barriers for lawmakers to create more “desperately needed” options for parents and students. I think there is. But Kentuckians still don’t know what that plan will look like, which leaves room for concern.
Jason Bailey, executive director of the Kentucky Economic Policy Center, said voting for the Second Amendment would be like writing a “blank check” to Congress.
“This amendment opens the door[to public funding for private schools]and does not put any guardrails on how much money is spent or who benefits. Two sentences suspend seven articles of the Kentucky Constitution to enable that and to enable other things as well,” Bailey told FOX19 NOW.
Kelly Reed, president of the Boone County Education Association and a longtime teacher, agreed with Bailey, adding that while the Second Amendment doesn’t do much, it does give lawmakers more power.
“This will not increase educational opportunities for students. First of all, this amendment does nothing other than overturn seven parts of the Constitution,” he said. “There’s not much to this amendment other than ‘trust us with your money.'”
Tim Morrison, a single father in northern Kentucky, said after doing his research he believes the Second Amendment can be “very beneficial,” especially for families.
Mr. Morrison is the father of three boys, two of whom attend a private Christian school and one who is a public school student.
“My first year student is doing really well (at the private school). He’s way ahead…now I’m trying to move him towards second year work,” Morrison said. Ta.
Private schools can be expensive, especially if you have two children attending the school. For people like Mr Morrison, even the possibility of receiving a little extra funding from the state could still be beneficial.
Although motivated by economic relief, Mr. Morrison’s primary reason for voting for the Second Amendment is the freedom to choose what is best for the education of his children.
“That’s one thing about private school. I have more freedom in private school to move forward and choose my pace,” he explained.
Morrison added that he doesn’t feel it’s the same in public schools.
Will public schools struggle with “school choice” programs? Will property owners end up paying more taxes?
Another concern people have about the Second Amendment is how it will affect public schools and whether Kentuckians will have to pay more in taxes.
Waters said the Second Amendment does not divide or take away state funding from public schools and does not require more funding from taxpayers. Instead, lawmakers would create a separate portion of the state budget to fund the voucher/scholarship program.
“If you’re wealthy, you have options, but I don’t think a child should be denied a great education just because their family doesn’t make a good salary or they live in the wrong zip code.” he stated. .
However, “school choice” efforts can have an indirect negative impact on students who choose to remain in public schools.
Kentucky public school districts have several ways to obtain funding, including grants, local taxes, federal funds, school facility construction commissions, and Kentucky Supported Educational Excellence, also known as SEEK.
SEEK is the state’s main source of funding for public schools and covers things like transportation, English language learning, special education materials, and free meals.
If a public school student transfers to a private school, SEEK funds are withdrawn from that public school and returned to the state, Waters explained.
“Ninety percent of Kentucky students attend public schools. If this amendment passes, the majority will continue to attend public schools even after the voucher program goes into effect, but with (fewer) resources. I would just do that,” Bailey explained. “Funds will primarily be transferred to families who already have more assets and have higher incomes on average, so taking funds out of public schools and giving them to private schools with no liability that will essentially never take place.” We can’t afford it” on the same basis. ”
Additionally, many families, especially in eastern Kentucky, do not live near established private schools and therefore do not receive the same benefits as families living in states such as Jefferson, Fayette, Oldham, and Kenton counties.
“Community disparities will continue to widen, especially in rural areas where private schools are virtually non-existent,” Bailey explained. “These rural counties really need state funding because they have less assets.”
Reed echoed similar claims, adding that students with different learning abilities will suffer the most.
“It’s going to really hurt, and it’s the exceptional people who are going to be hurt the most by it.”
Specifically, these include English as a Second Language (ESL) learners, special education students, or people who need hard-to-find resources, Reed said.
“As an English teacher, I worked with ESL learners day in and day out,” he added. “You don’t see that in private education.”
Ongoing issues in education in Kentucky
Education in Kentucky has ranked low compared to other states for the past several years. The state was ranked 34th in the 2024 U.S. News & World Report.
According to Kentucky report cards for the 2022-23 school year, less than 50% of elementary, middle school, and high school students were ranked proficient/excellent in math, reading, science, social studies, and writing.
This is another reason Waters supports the Second Amendment.
“Funding is for the education of students, not for funding the system,” he said. “So this system is supposed to exist to educate kids, but more than half of the students in Kentucky’s public education system are not performing at grade level proficiency in math, reading, and science. I don’t have it.”
Reed, who has worked as a Boone County High School educator for the past 27 years, has other ideas for making public education better, rather than giving public funds to private schools. In other words:
Focus on individualized learning for students Increase teacher salaries Fund everyday resources used in schools
While SEEK funding helps a lot, it doesn’t cover all costs, and many school districts have their funding cut back each year, he said.
Additionally, teacher and bus driver recruitment and retention appears to be an ongoing issue in the state.
“As a teacher, I have not received a mandated raise since 2008,” Reed added.
In 2023, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear proposed an 11% pay increase for public school teachers in his state budget, but the General Assembly voted against the increase, arguing that the pay increase should come from SEEK. I cast it.
“We have already spent nearly the last 20 years cutting funding for public schools. We have a teacher shortage, we have a bus driver shortage…We have a shortage of teachers, we have a shortage of bus drivers…We have cut funding to public schools for almost the last 20 years. ,” Bailey added.
Compared to surrounding states, this is where Kentucky ranks in the U.S. News and World Report education rankings, as well as the average teacher salary according to the 2024 National Education Association Educator Salary Data Report.
State Average Starting Salary Average Starting Salary Ranking Average Salary Average Salary Ranking Education Rank Kentucky $39,20445 $56,2964134 Ohio $40,05543 $66,3901927 Indiana $42,73528 $57,0153625 Tennessee $42,16431 $55,3694431 West Virgin ia $40,33940 $52 ,8705148 Illinois $43,51524 $73,9161216 Virginia $46,25017 $63,1032510 Voting in Kentucky
Some voters have already begun voting early or in person, as absentee ballots are returned to county election boards.
In-person exempt absentee voting will be available from October 23rd to 25th and October 28th to 30th. This is for Kentuckians who have a reason for not being able to vote on Election Day, including students, military members and people with disabilities.
No-excuse, in-person absentee voting begins October 31st and ends November 2nd. This is for everyone who wants to vote early, no excuses needed.
November 5th is Election Day, and voting will take place from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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