The most hotly contested question on Kentucky’s ballot next week may not be who should take office, but whether to remove a constitutional barrier which could open the door for school choice.
Amendment 2 would allow state lawmakers to spend public tax dollars on education outside of public schools.
As Election Day nears, the ground game is intensifying among both sides of the argument. The grassroots politicking includes bus tours and canvassing neighborhoods. The Republican leaning advocacy group Americans for Prosperity estimates its volunteers have knocked on 150,000 doors across Kentucky since June.
“We are the biggest grassroots organization in the country that is fighting to preserve the American dream," said AFP State Director Heather LeMire.
LeMire was among volunteers who fanned out this month across McCoy Place, a subdivision in Bowling Green.
AFP Grassroots Engagement Director Malcolm Haming gave instructions to canvassers in front of a large yellow passenger van reading, “Vote Yes on Amendment 2.”
Haming was in a red shirt that said, “Put Kentucky Students First.” He led a small group of school-age children to a home on Fonso Circle. They knocked and the homeowner opened the door.
The homeowner, Larry Ramey, had a Trump-Vance sticker on his mailbox, but the Republican voter said he’s not sure how he’ll vote on the amendment.
“There’s a lot of stuff coming through the mail," Ramey said. "I’m totally undecided at this point because, I’ll just say it, there seems to be a lot of lies, misinformation, and fear mongering, maybe from both sides."
Haming told Ramey the amendment won’t do anything immediately, but would allow state lawmakers to discuss charter schools, tax credits, and private school vouchers. Critics argue school choice takes funding away from public schools, but Haming suggested that competition means better outcomes for students.
“I’d say they’re like customers, and you’re trying to serve them a product, and the product is a good education," explained Haming. "If they’re stuck and they have no other options, the product doesn’t matter as much. But if all these families start having a choice and there’s competition, not only do all education environments thrive, but public schools start to offer a better product because they have an incentive now and can’t take these lower income and middle class families for granted.”
Of all the homeowners reached in this one neighborhood, all were undecided except one who said he was voting in favor of the amendment. Another one of the canvassers was Laura Towe, a Bowling Green mother of six who used to send her kids to public school. She now homeschools five of her children and has one in private school. Towe thinks education shouldn’t be a one size fits all model.
“My oldest is in a classroom setting and learning from textbooks. He’s also taking some dual credit classes and really excelling," Towe said. "But for some of my other children, we’re learning outside of a classroom and we’re taking different trips and doing things to teach education in a different way.”
But public education is what serves more than 90% of Kentucky students who depend on the system for more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. Public schools provide food, medical care, mental health support, and other essential services to the most vulnerable.
For that reason, the Kentucky Student Voice Team has been on a bus tour trying to convince voters to hit the brakes on Amendment 2. KSVT is a non-profit group of more than 100 middle and high schoolers. One of its members is Ivy Litton, a senior at Rowan County High School. During a recent stop in central Kentucky, she said she's concerned her school would be disproportionately affected by Amendment 2 since rural districts rely more heavily on state funding.
“I’ve been very involved in things like track and field, speech and debate, and different programs that have made me feel like I have a home at school," Litton said. "I would be worried for younger students coming into high school because that’s what’s on the line.”
As the only Hispanic student at her school, Boyle County High School junior Luisa Sanchez said she fears state-supported school choice could re-segregate schools.
“Vouchers rose to prominence in the United States after the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision mandating the desegregation of public schools," Sanchez said. "Families unwilling to comply started alternate systems of education. These were private schools that could deny admittance to students solely based on the color of their skin.”
Students against Amendment 2 are worried that private schools can deny students enrollment and aren’t held to the same transparency and accountability standards as public schools.
Groups supporting and opposing the amendment have, collectively, raised more than $14 million for their efforts. Besides flooding the airwaves with their messages, both sides are putting in the miles by foot and bus to reach voters in the 4th quarter of this election season. If a majority of Kentucky voters approve the amendment on Nov. 5, the ball will be thrown back to the legislature to decide what form of school choice Kentucky will adopt.
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