Kentucky rejects Amendment 2 allowing private education funding and passes Amendment 1

After a lengthy and costly campaign, Amendment 2, which would allow the Kentucky legislature to spend taxpayer dollars on private and charter education, failed – by a wide margin. Meanwhile, Amendment 1 passed, introducing additional constitutional language banning non-citizens from voting in Kentucky, according to the Associated Press.

When the Associated Press called the election, no counties voted to approve the education funding change; an estimated 66% of the votes were 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, president of the Kentucky Parent Teacher Association.

One of the main groups pushing for Amendment 2, Kentucky Students First, dropped out of the race before the AP called it.

The proposed constitutional amendment was the latest in a series of Republican legislative attempts to implement “school choice” initiatives in the state. Lawmakers previously tried to create a funding mechanism for charter schools and passed a tax credit for scholarships – but both attempts were found unconstitutional.

Lawmakers drafted the amendment in an attempt to bypass seven sections of the state constitution to give lawmakers the ability to spend state money on public education. Kentucky voters defeated it with 65.2% of the vote when AP called the race.

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

“It’s time for our legislative leaders to recognize the will of the people and get serious about ensuring that every child in Kentucky receives a world-class public education – that means they should get to work immediately to fully reform our public schools “including increasing teacher salaries to address the teacher shortage and establish universal preschool for every four-year-old in Kentucky,” Beshear said.

Support for Amendment 2 came largely from Kentucky Republicans, but not all. Several Republicans representing rural areas campaigned against it, fearing it would divert funding from rural public schools in favor of private schools in the state's urban centers. The change has so far failed in all districts, whether rural or urban.

Although final numbers won't be available until mid-December, millions of dollars have flowed into the campaigns for and against Amendment 2. By mid-October, a record $14 million had flowed into the fight. Recent reports show an influx of “dark money” spending in competition. Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass poured millions into the “school choice” side to support the change, and teachers unions spent millions opposing it.

Beshear and his lieutenant governor, Jacqueline Coleman, fought hard against the change, campaigning and appearing in ads across the state. One of the big donors in the campaign against Amendment 2 was Kentuckians for Public Education, Inc., a political action committee led by Beshear's top political strategist that is also funded by two political groups affiliated with the governor.

Amendment 1 was adopted

Meanwhile, Amendment 1, which seeks to add constitutional language to ban non-citizens from voting in all local and state elections, passed by nearly as large a margin as voters who rejected Amendment 2. Amendment 1 received far less attention – and funding – compared to its counterpart on the ballot. State election officials reassured Kentuckians that non-citizens are already barred from voting in any election in Kentucky starting with the federal election.

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

Non-citizen voting has become a flashpoint this election cycle, with some right-wing experts claiming it is a widespread problem in federal elections. But election watchdogs say noncitizens vote extremely rarely and that there are harsh penalties if noncitizens are caught.

While some communities across the country allow registered non-citizens to vote in local elections, such as for school board, non-citizens in Kentucky are not allowed to vote at any level, making the results of Tuesday's change meaningless.

Reporter Jess Clark contributed to this story.
Reporting on state government and politics is partially supported by the Society for Public Broadcasting.