School vouchers spell trouble for Kentucky for students. Vote no on Amendment 2. | Opinion

Over the next few months, Kentuckians will be hearing a lot more about “school choice.” Yeah, it sounds good — who doesn’t want a “choice?” But, if you look deeper and see what it really says, there isn’t much “choice” at all. (It’s almost like they try to make amendments confusing to voters.)

“School choice” in this context, means taking Kentuckians’ taxpayer dollars and giving it to private schools and for-profit institutions by way of some kind of voucher. It would wreak havoc on our public education system and hurt public school students across our Commonwealth.

This didn’t happen overnight. Back in 2022, the Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously ruled that so-called “school choice” was unconstitutional. That’s why this legislative session — after two hours of debate — Republicans passed a bill that would amend Kentucky’s constitution and permit public dollars to flow to private schools. We need to stop this. The choice of whether or not to let this happen now lies with you and me, and all Kentucky voters on Nov. 5.

Because Kentucky Republicans have been vague with their proposal, it’s hard to quantify exactly what this would mean for our school system, but we can come up with a pretty good idea by do have a very good idea by looking at what it has done in other states. According to a study, vouchers could result in 380 fewer educators and over $52.1 million less funding in Fayette County alone.

Over in Jessamine County — home to 14 public schools and zero certified private schools — private school vouchers could lead to over 130 fewer educators in school classrooms, gymnasiums, and cafeterias.

It’s hard to listen to school choice proponents in Frankfort claim otherwise when they haven’t provided any details or any semblance of a plan.

Voters like me, who are opposed to Amendment 2, are not necessarily opposed to private schools, despite to what you may have heard. Quite the contrary, my child attended two different private schools, but I never once thought I should take money from the public school system to pay for his education! Subsidizing private schools, at the expense of public education, is just bad policymaking and isn’t fair to the students who attend public schools.

In neighboring states, we’ve gotten a preview of who vouchers benefit the most. To the north, Ohio spent nearly $1 billion on private school vouchers, and the analysis found that while voucher usage grew by 313%, enrollment at schools that accept vouchers grew by only 3.7%. Vouchers paid for students already at private schools, while taking funding away from public schools.

Over in Indiana, a new University of Notre Dame study found that the state voucher program’s average recipient is someone who has never attended public school and comes from a family earning more than $99,000 a year. Public schools, which educate more than 90 percent of students in Indiana, are the ones being left behind.

If you’re supporting school choice to ensure better educational outcomes for children, you’ve been misled. In Louisiana, vouchers led to lower math scores for students that used them. In Ohio, 88% of cities were found to have a public district that achieved better testing results than those private schools with an address in the same city.

Don’t be surprised. Private schools aren’t required to meet the same benchmarks as public schools. There’s no mandated obligation that a child in a private school should be provided a quality education that lines them up for success. Vouchers help private schools, who remain unaccountable to taxpayers, collect a check.

Democrats and Republicans rarely agree on issues these days, but this one should transcend party affiliation: Taxpayer dollars aren’t meant for private schools. Regardless of your political views, I hope that you VOTE NO on Amendment 2 in November. I want to live in a community where all students have a chance to get a good education. Don’t you?

Sarah Moore Katzenmaier lives in Lexington.