Opinion – PJ Lonneman: School vouchers are bad choice for KY students, communities, budgets

Kentucky voters have an important decision on this year’s ballot – whether or not to change the state’s constitution to allow for a school voucher program. If Amendment 2 passes, the legislature would be free to establish a voucher program to allow public funds to flow to private schools.

A yes vote on Amendment 2 would divert money from public schools to unaccountable private schools.

Taxpayers do not have a say in how private schools use voucher funds, unlike with public schools where they can address their concerns to the elected members of the board of education. Private schools are not required to track data and report out to the public; if a voucher program is implemented in Kentucky, we taxpayers cannot know if it will be money well-spent.

What we do know for sure, however, is that it will reduce public school funding. The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, a non-partisan research organization, estimates that if Kentucky were to institute a Florida-style voucher program, my district, Covington Independent Public Schools, would see a 12% budget reduction and would have to eliminate 55 educator positions.

The impact on public school districts in our rural counties will be even more devastating. In many rural counties, public schools are the only education option for parents.

A yes vote on Amendment 2 will divert public money from rural public districts to urban and suburban private options.

Furthermore, rural public school districts employ many residents, serve as a community hub, and offer refuge in times of crisis, as we saw during the flooding in eastern Kentucky in 2022.

As we have seen in other states that have instituted voucher programs, it is a fiscal disaster. In Arizona, for example, the voucher program is projected to cost nearly $950 million- $320 million over the budgeted amount for fiscal year 2024. On top of this, 53% of these funds are going to 8% of Arizona students! Proponents of these programs say that they will be targeted to poor families in failing districts. But inevitably, these programs are expanded to allow more and more families to receive public taxpayer dollars, regardless of income level or the performance of their local public school district.

Kentuckians across the Commonwealth- urban, suburban and rural- have a clear choice this November. Vote NO on Amendment 2. It is the right choice for our students, our communities, and our budget.

PJ Lonneman is a Covington resident and parent of a student in the Covington Independent Public Schools.

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