Amendment 2 will not raise KY teacher pay despite what its advocates say | Opinion
As the election gets closer, Kentucky voters are getting a lot more information about Amendment 2, the ballot measure that would change the state Constitution to allow public school funding to go to private school options.
The latest one is from the Kentucky Chapter of Americans for Prosperity, the think tank founded in 2004 by free market billionaires Charles and David Koch.
This one is written in a Dr. Seuss-like font “Vote Yes on Amendment 2!” It stresses the idea that Amendment 2 would help “low-income students in difficult situations.”
In fact, we don’t know what Amendment 2 would do because if the measure passes, the General Assembly would have to create whatever program it wants to create school choice, anything from public charter schools to vouchers for private schools.
At any time, legislators could choose to separately boost teacher pay as well.
If the state adopts vouchers, research from other states have found that two things happen: Nationally, about 70 percent of vouchers are used by families whose children are already in private schools, which does not largely help low-income students. The other thing that happens is that private school tuition goes up.
In big letters, the flyer says “Kentucky is one of only two states that does not offer support for low-income students.”
According to Americans for Prosperity officials, this refers to the fact that Kentucky and North Dakota are the only two states that offer neither public charters schools or some kind of private school assistance. Only 29 states offer private school assistance.
Public charter schools are most directly aimed at helping children in low-income schools.
“Kentucky has school choice, but only for families who can afford it,” said Americans for Prosperity-KY State Director Heather LeMire.
“Amendment 2 aims to provide student-focused options when it comes to their education. It would remove the one-size-fits-all government control that dictates Kentucky’s education system today and give parents and students the freedom and flexibility to choose the school that best fits their unique needs.”
As to other claims made in the flyer, they follow other mailers with misleading information. Amendment 2 would not raise teacher pay or “support public schools.”
There is an economic theory that more competition will increase teacher pay, and some teacher pay has gone up in states with voucher programs, but Amendment 2 is a long way from doing either of those things.
Because 63 percent of Kentucky’s school districts don’t have private schools, any school choice measures will be centered in urban areas.
In other states, voucher programs have been expanded to universal vouchers, which means they are awarded regardless of family income.
If a hypothetical voucher program in Kentucky awarded between $5,000-$7,000 per student based on the state funding formula, it wouldn’t go far in helping low-income students at private schools in Lexington or Louisville, where many private schools cost more than $10,000 a year.
States with universal vouchers are showing ballooning costs to providing vouchers or education spending accounts, know frequently as ESAs.
This story was originally published October 3, 2024 at 12:30 PM.
