Kentucky schools amendment TV blitz begins with $200k-plus ad campaigns, competing visions
The political fight over school funding in Kentucky is in full swing and, as of this week, on full view.
Advocates on both sides of the issue — a constitutional amendment appearing on the ballot that would allow the state to help fund K-12 private or charter education if approved by voters — recently dropped television advertising campaigns, with price tags reaching at least $200,000 for the first week on air. The advertisements will air on cable and network television all across the state.
The amendment will appear on all Kentucky voters’ Nov. 5 ballot for approval or disapproval.
The movement in support of such amendments is under the nation-wide banner of “school choice.” Proponents of school choice across the country support more funding and access to alternatives to public schools. Conservatives in the state have been leading the charge in support of the amendment.
The amendment on the ballot would allow the state to pursue some version of school choice, be that charter schools, tax credits supporting scholarships, direct state money going towards school vouchers or a variety of other programs. It would not, however, tie the state to pursuing any particular program.
The “no” side includes public educators and Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear as well as other Democrats like Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman. Many Democrats see the push as a way for Republicans to divert dollars that could otherwise go to improving public education.
Several groups have formed to spend money on either side of the issue.
A conservative political action committee that has played in Kentucky politics before, funded by a Pennsylvania billionaire, is backing the “yes” side ads that are already on television. A group funded largely by the biggest teachers’ union in the country is running advertisements against the amendment.
“Helps Everybody”
The first advertisement to hit airwaves was for the “yes” side, paid for by a political action committee aligned with Kentucky’s junior senator.
It starts immediately with a proclamation from the speaker: “I’m a public school supporter.”
It’s unlikely that’s a coincidence, according to University of Kentucky political science professor Stephen Voss.
“The ad talks about the benefits that can come from schools competing for education dollars, but in an upbeat way, not by trashing the public school system,” Voss said. “Perhaps conservative education reformers have noticed that when their message seems to be attacking a community’s own school, voters in the area resist their appeals.”
The ad’s lone speaker is preacher and former Anderson County Schools teacher and principal Randy Adams.
Adams goes on to argue that school choice programs benefit public schools, saying that the competition it introduces “just elevates results for everyone.”
This is not Adams’ first rodeo when it comes to political advocacy, as he’s been involved with the state’s two most prominent Christian political groups: the Family Foundation and the Commonwealth Policy Center.
He’s also played a central role in local controversies.
In 2022, Adams was suspended from his public school job after a complaint he made in a since-deleted Facebook post that it was a “sin against God” for him to call a person a gender other than their biological sex. He was criticizing state guidance on the matter at the time. He also, in 2023, played a role in amplifying criticism of the local public school system regarding a counselor’s handling of a gay relationship.
Teri Carter, a progressive writer and activist who lives in Anderson County, called Adams a “con man” and “a chaos agent, sowing division and animosity about public education.”
The majority of elected Republicans in Frankfort, both statewide officers and members of the General Assembly, support the amendment and other school choice laws. Such laws have passed in recent years but been struck down by courts due to the Kentucky constitution — hence the push for an amendment to that document.
Some rural Republicans, however, opposed the amendment. Public school systems hold outsize influence in many Kentucky counties, particularly certain rural ones in the east and west where they’re the biggest employers.
Footing the bill for production and distribution on the ad is Protect Freedom PAC, an outside group that was one of the primary contributors to former GOP attorney general Daniel Cameron’s attempt to unseat Beshear last year. Cameron fell short by five percentage points.
The total spend on just three network television stations in Lexington over the course of the next week tops $105,000.
Protect Freedom PAC is aligned with Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, with its website touting its staff’s experience working on his and his father’s — famous libertarian politician Ron Paul — campaigns.
The PAC’s primary donor is Pennsylvania billionaire investor Jeff Yass, a close ally of Paul’s. Yass and his wife, Janine, have been strong supporters of the school choice movement in Pennsylvania and across the country. Yass gave the group $8 million earlier this year, and it had about $1.4 million on hand as of July 31.
Yass has funded another PAC more explicitly focused on the issue, School Freedom Fund, which also chipped in to boost Cameron last year.
Another group, Kentucky Students First, is supporting the amendment. It has raised just over $1.5 million, with much of that coming from leaders in the Northern Kentucky business community. William Yung, CEO of the Crestview Hills-based hotel company Columbia Sussex, gave $500,000 to the group.
Matching Yung’s total donation, the highest in Kentucky Students First’s financial report filed Tuesday, was Kentucky Education Freedom Fund Inc., a nonprofit political organization (also known as a “dark money” group) led by the CEO of EdChoice Kentucky. Robert Castellini, CEO of the Cincinnati Reds, also gave the group $2,000.
Protect Our Schools’ ad
The ad from the leading group running ads against the amendment, Protect Our Schools, features a litany of speakers who appear to be parents and educators alike. It emphasizes that 90% of Kentucky K-12 students attend public schools and that lawmakers should focus on investing more into existing public schools.
It opens with two parents sitting near their child, suggesting that “Amendment 2 and vouchers are not the answer.”
The first speaker after the parents says “Amendment 2 would use public money to fund private schools,” a common rallying cry for those running against the amendment.
That messaging has frustrated former state GOP spokesperson and Republican strategist Tres Watson because he argues the amendment would make such initiatives allowable under the constitution but not necessarily enact them. However, he acknowledges its brevity and, relatedly, its efficacy.
“I continue to believe that the messaging on the ‘no’ side isn’t 100% honest, but countering it requires more than a 30-second ad. That makes the messaging part of countering it different,” Watson said.
A good portion of the ad goes on to provide ideas to help public schools, highlighted in a statement from Protect Our Schools.
“Instead of sending taxpayer money to private schools, we should focus on public schools — where 90% of children attend — and not take money away from them,” the statement reads. “We can invest in better ideas that work like increasing teacher pay to fix the teacher shortage, smaller classes to give students more one on one attention, and fund universal pre-K to give all our kids a great start.”
The leading fundraiser to Protect Our Schools is the National Education Association, the largest labor union in the United States. The group has donated more than $2.4 million, making up the lion’s share of the $3 million-plus the group has taken in, according to its financial report to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance Tuesday.
Rounding out the fundraising total is other organizations — no individual gave more than $1,500 — related to education or progressive politics. The Kentucky Education Association gave $265,000 and the Jefferson County Teachers Association has given $250,000. The Movement Voter Project, a progressive political organization, gave Protect Our Schools $65,000.
The ad buy from Protect Our Schools, roughly $200,000 according to the group, is less than Protect Our Freedom PAC’s. Across six network stations in Lexington and Louisville, Protect Our Schools spent about $172,000 on ads while Protect Freedom PAC dropped around $253,000.
With both ads just beginning a two-month media campaign in the lead-up to November’s election, twists and turns in the messaging are expected.
“I would expect the ‘pro’ people to be focused on the learning loss after COVID. I would expect the ‘anti’ people continue to home in on vouchers and talk about how the vouchers won’t fully fund a Louisville private school tuition,” Watson said.
“But for the most part, it’ll be ‘we want to give parents a choice’ versus ‘they want to take money from public schools and give it to private schools,’” Watson predicted.
Who donated?
Here is a list of every person or group who has donated $5,000 or more to Kentucky Students First, including their listed hometown, how much they donated and their employer.
- William Yung - Naples, FL: $500,000. Employer: Columbia Sussex
- Kentucky Education Freedom Fund, Inc. - Louisville, KY: $500,000
- Anthony Zembrodt - Covington, KY: $200,000. Employer: Retired
- Matth Toebben - Crescent Springs, KY: $100,000. Employer: Toebben Companies
- The Drees Company - Ft. Mitchell, KY: $75,000
- American Federation for Children - Columbia, MD: $75,000
- James Patterson - West Palm Beach, FL: $25,000. Employer: Pattco, Inc.
- Jean Frazier - Prospect, KY: $18,000. Employer: Retired
- Joseph Dougherty - Louisville, KY: $10,000. Employer: Louisville Paving and Construction
- Andy Crowley - Lexington, KY: $5,000. Employer: Cricket Wireless
- Joseph Landenwich - Louisville, KY: $5,000. Employer: Retired
- William Godfrey - Elizabethtown, KY: $5,000. Employer: Retired
- W. L. Rouse III - Lexington, KY: $5,000. Employer: The Rouse Companies, LLC
Here is a list of every group who has donated $5,000 or more to Protect Our Schools, including their listed hometown, how much they donated and their employer. The most any individual donated to Protect Our Schools was $1,500, so only organizations are listed.
- National Education Association - Washington, DC: $2,415,000
- Kentucky Education Association - Frankfort, KY: $265,000
Jefferson County Teachers Association - Louisville, KY: $250,000
- Movement Voter Project - Northampton, MA: $60,000
- Council for Better Education - Frankfort, KY: $50,000
This story was originally published September 11, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
