Northern Kentucky developers, teachers unions fuel Amendment 2 money race

By Tom Loftus
Kentucky Lantern

The big money being donated to defeat the so-called “school choice amendment” on the November ballot has come from – as expected – teachers unions, while the big money contributed by proponents of Amendment 2 has come from developers and other business interests in Northern Kentucky.

Reports filed with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance on Tuesday show that the group opposing the amendment, called Protect Our Schools, appears to have an early fundraising edge. It reported raising $3,055,000 since the spring and has $2,880,000 of that on hand as of Sept. 11.

Meanwhile, the committee advocating for the amendment, called Kentucky Students First, reported raising $1,533,000 so far, and a current balance of $1,118,000.

However, there are other groups that will spend money to influence voters in this race that have yet to report their donations and expenses. The most significant of those is likely to be Protect Freedom, which began airing advertisements advocating for the amendment in Kentucky this week.

Protect Freedom is a national political action committee that discloses its finances to the Federal Election Commission and is due to file its next report later this month. The super PAC is affiliated with U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and has been nearly totally funded by Jeff Yass, the multi-billionaire options trader from Philadelphia. Yass is a powerful advocate for school choice and among the very largest political donors in the country. Since the beginning of 2023 he donated $14 million to Protect Freedom. And he donated millions to Protect Freedom and other super PACs that supported Republican Daniel Cameron’s unsuccessful campaign for governor of Kentucky in 2023.

Passage of Amendment 2  would allow the Kentucky General Assembly to approve provide state taxpayer funds to private and charter schools.

State lawmakers tried to do that three years ago with a bill that would have provided tax credits for donations supporting private school tuition.

But the Kentucky Supreme Court struck down that law, saying it violated provisions of the Kentucky Constitution.

Early this year Republican majorities in the Kentucky General Assembly approved a measure to let voters decide this November to amend the Constitution so that the General Assembly can provide funding for education outside the public school system.

Biggest donors

In its report filed Tuesday with the state election registry, the pro-amendment group Kentucky Students First reported getting most of its money from donors from Northern Kentucky with ties to the development and hospitality industries.

Its biggest donors:

• William Yung, of Naples Florida, president of the hotel and resort operator Columbia Sussex, which is based in Crescent Springs, $500,000.

• Kentucky Education Freedom Fund Inc., a “dark money” political committee based in Louisville and headed by Charles Leis, the chief executive of EdChoice Kentucky, of Louisville. This type of political committee organized under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Service does not have to disclose its donors.

• Anthony Zembrodt, of Covington, retired, $200,000.

• Matth Toebben, Crescent Springs, executive of Toebben Companies which is involved in commercial and residential construction, $100,000.

• The Drees Company, Fort Mitchell, homebuilding, $75,000.

• American Federation for Children , of Columbia, Maryland, a national organization that promotes school choice, $75,000.

Protect Our Schools , the group opposed to the amendment, reported the following large donations:

• National Education Association, Washington, a national teachers union, $2,415,000.

• Kentucky Education Association, Frankfort, a state teachers union, $250,000.

• Jefferson County Teachers Association, Louisville, the Jefferson county teachers union, $250,000.

• Movement Voter Project, Northampton, Massachusetts, $60,000.

• Council for Better Education , Frankfort, $50,000.

Tom Loftus is a native of Cincinnati. His long career in Kentucky Journalism includes four years as Frankfort Bureau Chief for The Kentucky Post and 32 years as Frankfort Bureau Chief for the Courier Journal. He is a member of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame and a freelance reporter for the Kentucky Lantern , where this story first appeared.

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