Kentucky voters reject private, charter school funding amendment

After a lengthy and expensive campaign, Amendment 2 to allow the Kentucky legislature to spend tax dollars on private and charter education failed — and by a wide margin. Meanwhile Amendment 1 passed, adding more constitutional language banning noncitizen voting in Kentucky, according to the Associated Press.

At the time the Associated Press called the election, no county voted to approve the education funding amendment, with an estimated 66% of the votes counted.

“They voted with their hearts. Kentucky's hearts are in our public schools, and it's time for Frankfort to understand that,” said Autumn Naegle, Kentucky Parent Teacher Association president.

One of the main groups advocating for Amendment 2, Kentucky Students First, conceded the race before the AP called it.

The proposed constitutional amendment was the latest in a series of GOP legislative attempts to implement “school choice” initiatives in the state. The legislature previously attempted to set up a funding mechanism for charter schools and passed a scholarship tax credit — but both attempts were found unconstitutional.

Lawmakers wrote the amendment in a way that attempted to bypass seven sections of the state constitution to give the legislature the ability to spend state dollars on public education. Kentucky voters shot it down with 65.2% of the vote when AP called the race.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement that voters “definitively stated” that public funds should only be spent on public education.

“It is time our legislative leaders recognize the will of the people and get serious about ensuring that every Kentucky child gets a world-class public education — that means they should immediately get to work fully funding our public schools, including a raise in educator pay to address the teacher shortage and enacting universal pre-K for every Kentucky four-year-old,” Beshear said.

Support for Amendment 2 has largely come from Kentucky Republicans, but not all of them. Several Republicans who represent rural areas campaigned against it, fearful that it would drain funding from rural public schools in favor of private schools concentrated in the state’s urban centers. The amendment has so far failed in every county, rural and urban alike.

Although the final numbers won’t be available until mid-December, millions of dollars went into the campaigns for and against Amendment 2. By mid-October, a record-breaking $14 million went into the battle. The most recent reports show an influx of “dark money” spending in the contest. Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass funneled millions into the “school choice” side in support of the amendment, and teacher unions spent millions opposing it.

Beshear and his Lieutenant Gov. Jacqueline Coleman fought hard against the amendment, campaigning across the state and appearing in advertisements. One of the big spenders in the campaign against Amendment 2 was Kentuckians for Public Education, Inc., a political action committee led by the top political strategist for Beshear and also funded by two political groups affiliated with the governor.

Amendment 1 Passes

Meanwhile, Amendment 1 to add constitutional language to ban noncitizens from voting in all local and state elections passed with nearly as large a margin as voters rejected Amendment 2. Amendment 1 received far less attention — and funding — compared to its counterpart on the ballot. State election officials assured Kentuckians that noncitizens already can’t vote in any elections in Kentucky, from federal elections down.

Several other states had similar measures on their ballots this election cycle as well.

Noncitizen voting has become a flashpoint in this election cycle, with some right-wing pundits claiming that it was a rampant concern in federal elections. But elections watchdogs say noncitizen voting is excessively rare, with fierce penalties should the noncitizen be caught.

While some localities across the country allow documented noncitizens to vote in local elections, like for school board, noncitizens are not allowed to vote on any level in Kentucky, so the results of Tuesday’s amendment are meaningless.

Reporter Jess Clark contributed to this story.

State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.