‘Cynical and misleading.’ Recent mailer on Amendment 2 invokes Gov. Beshear | Opinion
As the election gets closer, the mailers on Amendment 2 are getting ... even more creative.
It’s not surprising. Amendment 2, which would rewrite the Kentucky Constitution to allow public school funding to be given to private schools, is the biggest issue on the Kentucky ballot this year. More than $16 million, mostly from out of state, has already been spent on advertising against and in favor of the amendment.
The groups advocating for Amendment 2 have sent out mailers with numerous lies on them, saying things like Amendment 2 would raise teacher pay and increase school funding overall. (The most truthful one had a photo of former President Donald Trump, who does support school choice. His campaign did not respond to our queries about what form of school choice he would support.)
But the latest one invokes Kentucky’s popular Gov. Andy Beshear, who is an ardent opponent of the measure.
“Give Gov. Beshear and our Legislature the tools to pioneer a modern education system,” it says.
First of all, the two-term Beshear is out speaking around the state against Amendment 2.
Second, if Amendment 2 passes, the legislature will decide what school choice programs will emerge. Beshear will likely veto them, and then his vetoes will almost certainly be overridden by the GOP supermajority, which routinely complains the governor takes credit for their work.
“Andy Beshear is one of the most popular governors in the country, and this is a cynical, misleading tactic to try to trick voters into thinking he supports this dangerous, anti-public schools amendment,” said Eric Hyers, a political strategist who runs Beshear’s In This Together PAC.
“Gov. Beshear has been clear that Amendment 2 will take tax dollars out of public schools and give them to private schools — with no accountability. He strongly urges Kentuckians to vote no on Amendment 2.”
The mailer is funded by Kentuckystudents.org, an offshoot of Kentucky Students First, a Kentucky PAC that has raised more than $2.5 million, with more than $1 million coming from dark money group Kentucky Education Freedom Fund, which is run by the CEO of EdChoice Kentucky, Charles Leis.
According to reporter Austin Horn “other large donations come from Northern Kentucky businessmen like William Yung of Columbia Sussex’s $500,000 contribution; American Federation for Children also contributed $75,000, and Louisville-based dark money group Kentuckians for Progress chipped in $100,000.”
Numerous out of state groups have contributed to both sides of the debate, including Americans for Prosperity, which supports the measure, and the National Education Association, which opposes it.
This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 12:19 PM.
