Kentucky governor ready to campaign against school choice measure if it reaches fall ballot

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear vowed Thursday to relentlessly oppose a proposed school choice constitutional amendment moving closer to reaching the general election ballot in the state.

As Republican lawmakers accelerated action on the measure, the governor sounded ready to lead the charge to try to defeat it at the ballot box and offered feisty critiques that could turn into campaign themes.

When a reporter noted at Beshear’s weekly news conference that he does not hold veto power over constitutional amendment bills, the governor quickly interjected: “But I can beat ’em.”

“Public dollars should only go to public schools, period,” Beshear said. “I’m against this constitutional amendment. And if they pass it, I will work every day to defeat it at the ballot box in November.”

Beshear’s remarks came a day after the measure won House passage following a contentious debate. A Senate committee was scheduled to take up the bill Thursday, signaling it’s fast-track movement in the closing days of this year’s legislative session. Both chambers have Republican supermajorities.

With no election for statewide office on Kentucky’s ballot in November, school choice looms as the most contentious state issue this fall if the proposed amendment reaches the ballot. It would allow Kentucky voters to decide a divisive issue that has hung over the legislature for several years.

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Beshear predicted the proposal would go down to defeat if it reaches the ballot.

“I think Kentuckians will overwhelmingly vote against public dollars going to private schools,” he said. “Private schools are fine, but they are a choice. The way to fix public education is to fix public education ... to ensure we’re providing the funding that it needs.”

Beshear is a close ally of the Kentucky Education Association, a labor association representing tens of thousands of public school educators. The KEA will align with Beshear to fight back against the school choice proposal if it gains a ballot spot. Beshear won a convincing reelection victory last year in a state that otherwise has shifted heavily toward the GOP, and he has maintained high voter approval ratings.

If voters ratified the proposal, it would enable lawmakers to follow up with legislation that could allow state money, for instance, to help fund enrollment at private and charter schools. Key supporters have avoided talking about any follow-up bills, saying their focus is putting the measure on the ballot.

Court decisions in Kentucky have ruled that public tax dollars must be spent on the state’s “common” schools — a reference to public schools — and cannot be diverted to charter or private schools.

At a school choice rally in January, a key GOP lawmaker pointed to overall lagging test scores for minority and economically disadvantaged students as a driving force behind the proposed amendment.

“I believe that is the reason we have so many parents who are frustrated with the situation they find themselves in, in public education, and they feel like they have no choice for their children,” House Education Committee Chairman James Tipton said. “Well, you deserve a choice. You deserve an opportunity to help your children succeed, and that’s what we intend to do.”

Opponents warn the ultimate outcome, if the school choice amendment wins voter approval, would be legislation to divert badly needed state money away from public schools to support private schools.

Beshear picked up on that theme Thursday, saying: “At the end of the day, these are private corporations that really want to get their hands on a lot of money that should be going to public schools.”