Assuming that I make it until then, late next month will mark my 30th anniversary working here at the News Journal. During that time, I don’t think I have seen any more passionate conversations and debates about a proposed state constitutional amendment than I have regarding Amendment 2, which will be on the Nov. 5 ballot.
Simply put, if approved, this amendment would allow the Kentucky General Assembly to fund private schools.
This amendment is on the ballot because several prior efforts by the Kentucky General Assembly to allow funding for private schools have been ruled unconstitutional by the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Several Republican legislators have touted this amendment as a way to offer parents choices in their children’s educational opportunities.
Part of their motivation for trying to pass this amendment involves trying to provide choices for parents, whose children attend Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville.
The Jefferson County district is less than stellar. Let me offer a couple of examples of what I am talking about.
A recent Louisville Courier Journal story shows that Jefferson County elementary students scored proficient by about 10 percent points less than all Kentucky elementary school students in math, reading and science on the most recent round of state testing.
On the first day of classes last school year after implementing a new transportation plan over the summer, some Jefferson County students didn’t get off the bus at home until about 10 p.m. that night. Even the district’s superintendent called it a “transportation disaster.” Classes were canceled for the rest of the week while they worked out a new plan.
Jefferson County public schools may be bad, but this amendment is worse for several reasons.
First, this amendment would allow the General Assembly to bypass not one, not two, but seven sections of the Kentucky Constitution in order to fund private schools in pretty much any way that they choose.
The Kentucky Constitution is in place to guarantee citizens certain rights and to put guardrails in place limiting what our politicians can and cannot do. Ask yourself how often the public has been better served with politicians having fewer guardrails and limits?
Even if you trust this group of politicians in Frankfort, this amendment would also give future members of the state legislature the power to also fund private schools any way that they choose, and those folks might not be so trustworthy.
When money goes to a public school district, there is some level of accountability.
The elected board of education members set the budget and approve how that money will be spent during a meeting that, by law, is open to the public. There are regular audits of public school districts to ensure certain rules are being followed.
This system of checks and balances is far from perfect, but it works.
In 2000, a former Williamsburg superintendent paid back $14,500 and got a probated prison sentence after pleading guilty to theft by deception in connection to the double-billing travel expenses while he was superintendent. About $5,000 of this amount was to cover attorney and audit fees by the school district.
If money goes to a private or religious school, we won’t necessarily know how the money will be spent. The meetings and records of these organizations are not open to the public. Their financial records won’t be subject to inspection unlike public school districts.
In public school districts, there are qualifications for teachers and administrators, such as being certified through the state and having certain degrees. The same can’t be said for private or religious schools, which may or may not have qualified teachers.
I will concede that many times private schools, particularly expensive private schools, have better test scores than public schools. There are a few reasons for that.
One of the most notable reasons for this is that private schools can pick and choose, who they will educate.
Public schools are required to educate everyone, including people with disabilities. Private schools can reject people with disabilities, who are quite often more difficult and expensive to educate.
A few weeks ago, an attorney friend of mine got dragged into a debate on Facebook regarding Amendment 2 and why he opposes it.
The gist of his position was that he is not going to support sending public tax dollars to a school that can discriminate against students based on their disabilities.
I am in 100 percent agreement with that position.
I am sure that there are many people in our area, who support Amendment 2 because it could potentially enable the legislature to send taxpayer dollars to help fund Christian schools. To these folks, I would say be very careful what you wish for.
Keep in mind that if the state legislature sends state funding to Christian schools, then it will have to send state funding for all religious schools that request it, such as Muslim schools, Jewish schools, etc.
