School Vouchers on the Ballot

Will voters approve using public money for private schools?

Photo by Ernie Journeys on Unsplash

Election Day is fast approaching.

As Peter Greene notes, in three states, this election includes an opportunity for voters to directly weigh in on school vouchers.

Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska each have ballot measures that ask voters to determine if vouchers will be allowed in their states.

Greene correctly points out:

These are three different approaches to the question of taxpayer-funded school vouchers, but they share the unusual feature of putting voucher programs to a public vote. All school voucher programs in the U. S. were passed into law by legislatures, sometimes over strong objections of the taxpayers. No taxpayer-funded school voucher program has ever survived a public vote.

In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, continues to resist efforts by the GOP-controlled legislature to privatize public education.

Kentucky’s Supreme Court also says that under the state’s Constitution, taxpayer funds may not be spent to support private K-12 education institutions.

Thus, the effort to amend the Constitution to allow the legislature to expend public funds for schools other than the state’s “common schools.”

Having just returned from a short visit to Kentucky, I can say that I saw lots and lots of “Vote NO on 2” signs. Even in yards with signs for GOP candidates for office.

I did note a few YES signs, but the sign game seems to favor the NO votes (in this case, NO on Amendment 2 is a YES for public schools).

Will Kentuckians Vote "Yes" for a $199 Million New Tax?

In the case of Kentucky, voters would be approving an estimated $199 million expense to effectively fund a separate school system consisting of unaccountable private schools.

In many parts of the state, there are no private school options. So, one argument opponents of Amendment 2 are making is if you live in a rural area, a YES vote is the same as sending your education dollars to the cities and suburbs.

There are 120 counties in Kentucky and even more school districts. Local public schools ARE the center of community in much of the state.

I would be surprised if Kentucky voters approve school vouchers. In fact, Beshear was re-elected in 2023 and ran largely on opposing vouchers and protecting/investing in public schools.

It will be interesting to see if voters in any of these states choose to approve school vouchers. More interesting, if all three states reject vouchers, will school privatizers pause in their efforts?

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