Kentucky AG: Public resources can’t advocate around ‘school choice’ amendment

Pulaski County Schools posted a graphic to a Facebook page earlier this week reading “No on Amendment 2. Public Funds for Public Schools!”

Before the post and an accompanying graphic on the district’s website were removed, they sparked outrage among supporters of the proposed constitutional change. They said the district was unfairly using public dollars to advocate for their position.

“They're not educating on this. They're clearly advocating for a position, and it's pretty blatant,” said Heather LeMire, the Kentucky state director of the conservative political action group Americans for Prosperity. “When you're saying ‘Vote this way,’ you are clearly electioneering at that point.”

Amendment 2 would allow the legislature to allocate funds to education outside of public schools. Legislation to that effect, including a private school scholarship tax credit, has already been struck down by the Kentucky Supreme Court. Supporters say the amendment would allow the legislature to give more opportunities to students. Meanwhile opponents say it would shift funds away from public schools they say are already underfunded.

In response to the online outrage, Republican Rep. Candy Massaroni of Bardstown requested an opinion from Attorney General Russell Coleman. Coleman, who is also a Republican, said that public resources could not be used to advocate for or against the amendment.

“The Office of the Attorney General… is committed to ensuring that public officials observe the constitutional and statutory limitations prohibiting the use of public resources in connection with the pending ballot questions,” Coleman wrote in the opinion.

Coleman said he is prepared to “take any necessary action” if any other school district or public office uses their resources to advocate on the amendment.

Pulaski Superintendent Patrick Richardson said in a statement that he disagrees with Coleman, saying the attorney general didn’t ask him or any of his employees for input. While describing the opinion as “partisan politics at its worst,” Richardson said he would respect the decision.

“When elected officials work to silence people, that is a red flag and we should all take notice,” Richardson said.

Massaroni thanked Coleman for taking a stand on the issue, which he did within hours. Attorney general opinions do not have the force of law. They are generally provided to public officials and are supposed to help them navigate state law.

“It’s evident that some school officials are inappropriately using taxpayer time and resources to influence an election. Our schools should be dedicated to educating our children, not pushing false narratives to serve political agendas,” Massaroni said in a statement.

Sebastian Torres, an attorney from Boone County and supporter of the amendment, said he felt the issue was already clear in state law, even without Coleman’s opinion.

“As a taxpayer, I don't want to see any public organization using my taxpayer dollars to advocate for political issues, for or against, really, on any issue,” Torres said. “That's not the role of our public institutions, which have been trusted with these precious dollars that have come out of our pockets to pick winners or losers on political fights.”

LeMire with Americans for Prosperity said she thought districts should leave the fighting to teacher’s unions rather than advocating for a position itself.

A spokesperson for the Kentucky School Boards Association, whose guidance was cited by Coleman in his opinion, said the line between lobbying and providing useful information to citizens is sometimes difficult to determine.

Kentucky Department of Education spokesperson Jennifer Ginn said in a statement that public school districts and their leaders can education their communities on school funding issues.

"With knowledge of how public schools in their own communities may be impacted, individual community members may make informed decisions on matters impacting Kentucky's public schools," Ginn said.

WKU Public Radio Reporter Jacob Martin contributed to this story.

State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated attribution of a quote.