Opinion – Kelly Read: I’m a teacher and I will be voting NO on Kentucky’s Ballot Amendment 2 in November

As an educator in the Boone County Public School district, I am passionate about public education.

I began my career as an English teacher at Boone County High School in 1998, and it quickly became my home. It is where I belong. Over these years I have watched our district grow, and my proudest moments are walking into our school commons each day and seeing the diversity of students and their diversity of interests. I have been fortunate to teach future carpenters, doctors, judges, and plumbers. I have watched my students start their own salons, trucking, car repair, and other small businesses. I have watched thousands of students leave our campus and become successful, thriving adults.

This election season the voters of Kentucky will vote on Ballot Amendment 2, which will determine if we are going to allow Kentucky taxpayers to fund voucher payments for students who attend private schools. Those who want taxpayers to vote Yes on this amendment will tell you this is about “school choice” — but make no mistake — this is a school voucher program aimed at supplementing tuition for kids who already attend private schools.

As a public school teacher, I worry about how passage of Ballot Amendment 2 would affect the 90 percent of students who currently attend our public schools across the Commonwealth. The students we teach every day come from various backgrounds and have various needs. As educators, we meet those needs individually and daily. Will private schools that take public tax dollars do the same?

Will a private school that collects taxpayer-funded vouchers accept a student who is an English Language Learner? Public schools do. Will a private school accept and teach a student with an Individual Education Plan or 504 plan, which provides for and helps students with disabilities receive specialized instruction and services from pre-K through 12th grade? Public schools do. Boone County provides a high-quality education and accepts EVERY student who walks through our doors.

If Amendment 2 passes, this private school voucher scheme would divert critical resources away from public schools. It will instead send those tax dollars to unaccountable private schools that aren’t required to play by the same rules or adhere to the same standards or accept students it might not want because of their race, religion, or disability. Public education provides opportunities for ALL students. We teach everyone. There is no disqualifier posted on our doors. No matter where you come from or what your situation is, you will receive a high-quality education. ALL students in our communities deserve the absolute best.

In private school vouchers programs implemented in Arizona and Florida, taxpayer dollars are being spent on students who have never walked through the doors of a public school. In Arizona, 95 percent of students receiving voucher payments from taxpayers never attended a public school. In Florida, that number is 87 percent. Next door in Ohio there’s been a 313 percent increase in the use of vouchers, but only a 3.7 percent increase in school enrollment — meaning Ohio taxpayers are subsidizing wealthy families who already send their students to private schools. In fact, in nearly every state where vouchers are present, costs quickly balloon. Over time, the strain placed on public schools by these voucher schemes becomes financially unfeasible and leads to radical disinvestment of our already underfunded public schools.

I wholeheartedly believe that communities are only as strong as their public schools, and passage of Ballot Amendment 2 will not make them stronger. It will bleed taxpayer dollars away from our public schools to supplement private school students.

Some politicians will tell you that they are hearing from their constituents on this matter, and that is why they are supporting Amendment 2. But in reality they are only hearing a few loud, well-funded voices looking for an opportunity to get their hands on taxpayer dollars to help pay for Kentucky’s exclusive private schools.

I’m going to use my loud teacher voice and urge every Kentucky parent and taxpayer to vote NO on Ballot Amendment 2—the private school voucher amendment—to protect our public schools and stand with ALL students.

Kelly Read is an English teacher at Boone County High School

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