FRANKFORT, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) — Gov. Andy Beshear joined a major teacher’s union to stump against Amendment 2 as advocates work overtime to reach voters three weeks before Election Day .
“Every dollar that goes into our public schools is so important, and this will mean there’s less,” Beshear said.
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The president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, joined Gov. Beshear and other advocates for a roundtable in Lexington to get voters fired up to vote ‘no.’ The amendment would ask voters if Kentucky’s constitution should be changed to allow tax money to be spent on students outside the public school system.
“They defund things like sports. They defund things like clubs. They actually increase school size and classroom size, Weingarten said.
The “they” Weingarten referred to was private school vouchers, one possibility that could come from approving the amendment if Kentucky lawmakers follow through with that particular policy. Charter school funding or tax credit scholarships are other examples. Bluegrass Institute president Jim Waters spoke to FOX 56 last week about his support for the amendment. He said he believed it was about expanding options and improving education quality through competition.
Kentucky general election: View 2024 sample ballots by county “Which we see in 45 other states, including all seven states that surround us and all the states that we compete with for economic growth and population growth. So this simply says the Constitution can’t be used to stop those programs,” Waters said.
But at the core of the debate is this question: is there enough money in the pot to go around? Vote ‘yes’ supporters point to repeated increases in the education budget, amid less than optimistic test scores. Amendment 2 opponents say public schools already aren’t getting enough, and dividing education funds between more schools would result in cuts.
“This isn’t magic money that comes from a tree. It’s a limited amount of resources that the cuts to the income tax are making even more finite,” Beshear said.
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“Our achievement gaps are as wide as they were. Teachers are not benefiting. Taxpayers are not getting a return on their investment. Where is the accountability for all of these dollars,” Waters said.
The war of words will continue until Nov. 5.
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