Opposing groups raise millions of dollars for Kentucky’s education ballot referendum

Kentuckians will vote on a proposed constitutional amendment in November on whether to allow public funds to go to private schools, and several opposing political committees have already raised millions of dollars to spend on that fight.

A bill passed by the Kentucky General Assembly this year placed the referendum on the ballot, in which voters will be asked whether the state constitution should be amended to “provide financial support for the education of students outside the system of common schools,” meaning public K-12 schools. If the amendment is approved, the legislature could later decide the specifics of how funding would be directed to education at private or charter schools.

The only political issue committee opposed to the amendment to report raising significant funds ahead of the Tuesday deadline was Protect Our Schools Kentucky, which collected more than $3 million. These groups register with the state to spend money to influence voters on specific ballot referendums.

Protect Our Schools Kentucky’s report to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance indicated that its coffers were filled almost entirely by teachers unions. This included $2.4 million coming from the National Education Association and $500,000 coming from the Kentucky Education Association and the Jefferson County Teachers Association.

Protect Our Schools Kentucky purchased $200,000 worth of airtime for its first TV ads this week. The ads argue that the amendment would lead to a voucher system similar to what other states like Florida have implemented, siphoning state money from underfunded public schools to private schools. The group’s report this week also showed spending more than $100,000 on surveys and focus groups.

Kentuckians for Public Education, Inc., another political issue committee which is run by the top political strategist of Gov. Andy Beshear, has not yet reported raising or spending any funds. Beshear and the committee are also opposed to the amendment.

On the other side of the issue are at least two groups from the “school choice” movement that are also prepared to spend millions in support of the amendment.

Protect Freedom PAC started a statewide TV ad campaign in Kentucky last week. Its ads feature a teacher saying the amendment would improve education outcomes and choices. The federal political action committee has not yet reported how much it has spent on the ads, but it reported having $1.4 million cash on hand at the end of July. Unlike issue committees, federal PACs don’t register and report to the state.

Protect Freedom PAC has raised more than $14 million over the past two years, nearly all of which has come from Jeff Yass — the billionaire financial investor from Pennsylvania that bankrolled $8 million of PAC spending supporting Republican Daniel Cameron in Kentucky’s 2023 gubernatorial race. Yass, a vocal school choice supporter and backer of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, also gave $3.6 million in July to School Freedom Fund, a federal PAC that spent heavily in Kentucky last year but has not yet indicated if it will return for this year’s amendment battle.

Another supporter of the constitutional amendment to raise significant money is Kentucky Students First, which reported collecting more than $1.5 million by this week’s deadline.

One of the political issue committee’s largest donors was Kentucky Education Freedom Fund, Inc., a new dark money 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that will not have to reveal its donors to the IRS. The group, headed by the CEO of EdChoice Kentucky, contributed $500,000 in May.

Also contributing $500,000 to Kentucky Students First was William Yung, the owner of Columbia Sussex, a national hotel company based in northern Kentucky.

Kentucky Students First has not yet aired any TV ads, but its report this week indicated spending more than $300,000 on mailers and $100,000 on digital advertising.

The next reporting deadline for state issue committees is in October.

State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This article is also part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative on Sept. 15, the International Day of Democracy, in which news organizations cover how democracy works and the threats it faces. To learn more, visit usdemocracyday.org .