(LEX 18) — Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman believes Amendment 2 will be defeated on election night.
"I believe we will defeat Amendment 2," Coleman said during an event in Jessamine County on Tuesday. "We will not be able to defeat it by enough to make me happy, but we will win because this is not what Kentucky voters want."
Amendment 2 is a measure that affects school funding. If passed, the state constitution would be changed to include this text: "The General Assembly may provide financial support for the education of students outside the system of common schools.”
Currently, taxpayer dollars can only go to "common" schools, which are public schools. But the proposed change would allow state lawmakers to allocate public funds to private schools, if they choose to do so.
Coleman believes Amendment 2 would ultimately hurt public schools by leaving them with less money.
"There is nothing about a school voucher scheme that will make public education better," she said. "There is nothing about a school voucher scheme that will improve any of the issues that we are having."
She told the crowd on Tuesday that the classroom she taught in during her time in Jessamine County would be worse off under Amendment 2.
"If Amendment 2 were to pass, my old classroom that I was in for 10 years and only saw one new set of textbooks - had to share technology with another classroom and I didn't have access to it whenever I needed it, when we were pushing more desks and tables and chairs into our room than we could fit - would only get worse," said Coleman.
However, not everyone opposes school choice.
EdChoice Kentucky is a group working to bring school choice to Kentucky. The group's website lists its goal as "helping Kentucky students."
"The same education doesn't work for every child - learning styles and abilities are as unique as each child," the website goes on to say. "Kentucky students deserve a choice in their education. Education Choice is a common-sense solution."
The group supports Amendment 2 because it believes using taxpayer funds on private and charter schools would provide Kentucky families with options.
"EdChoice Kentucky is committed to ALL Kentucky students having access to the best educational opportunities," the group's spokesperson said in a statement. "Parents know what would meet the educational needs of their child and they should have the access to make that choice."
