The JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio has been planning his retirement for a while and wanted to give the district plenty of time to find a successor.
There is an important educational freedom amendment on the ballot this November that directly impacts the future of our children across the commonwealth: Amendment 2.
My support for Amendment 2 is in no way a criticism of public education. My own children graduated from Bowling Green High School and received a great education that prepared them well for college. But while our system is working for some, Kentucky has a responsibility to educate all of our students. And the tests show that we are failing.
Less than half of all Kentucky children can read at grade level. In middle school 63% cannot understand math at grade level and in high school it's 67%. The numbers are even worse for low income and minority children.
We constantly hear we just need more funding, but every year we increase our public-school budgets and scores continue to decline.
Since 1990, Kentucky has increased per student funding by 122% and after thirteen years in our public school system, most students still can't read at grade level.
Amendment 2 isn't about funding
It's not a lack of funding or resources. In fact, during this time the number of public-school administrative staff -- not teachers -- grew by a whopping 55%, while the number of students grew by only 5%. It's time to stop throwing money at the problem and seek new solutions.
Amendment 2 does not take one penny out of public schools. It simply allows our elected representatives, who are accountable to you, the voters, to consider new options for students and families who are stuck in failing or violent public schools.
Right now, the Constitution, as interpreted, hamstrings our legislators and restricts them to simply voting on "the status quo solution" which is always just spending more money.
Opinion: Ignore the fearmongering. Here's what Amendment 2 does and doesn't do
Wealthier people already live in places with the best public schools or can afford private. But what about poor or middle-income families that live in a district where the only option is a failing or violent school? When we trap kids in failing schools, where they graduate but can't even read at a basic high school level, we doom them to a cycle of poverty. This is why my husband Rand calls school choice the civil rights issue of our time.
Sadly, Kentucky is one of the few states that denies families ANY freedom in their child's education. We're the outliers in this country. 33 states plus Washington, D.C. have programs that allow some school funds to follow the child to the school of their choice. We're one of only five states that doesn't offer charter school options to our families.
Data from Stanford University shows that charter school students outpace their public-school peers in both reading and math. This is despite the fact that they are funded, on average, 25% less than their public-school counterparts, actually resulting in more money per student in the public schools. Shouldn't we have the option of charter schools in Kentucky?
When parents are empowered, it helps the public schools as well. Competition incentivizes.
Competition incentivizes success
When Florida began school-choice programs, the performance of its public education system dramatically improved - from performing below or roughly equal to Kentucky in the 1990s to outperforming not only the Bluegrass State but also the entire nation in fourth and eighth grade reading and math results, ranking number one according to data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for 2022. And Kentucky spent over $2,600 more per-pupil compared to Florida in 2022.
The numbers show even more success for minority children. According to NAEP, while Kentucky's Black students scored higher in fourth and eighth-grade math and reading than Florida's Black students in 1990, by 2022, when Floridians had many school-choice options, Florida's Black students outperformed Kentucky's, moving up from 32nd to 2nd in the country. Meanwhile, Kentucky, despite spending more, saw its rankings plummet from 12th to an abysmal 31st in the nation.
With competition, public schools might stop spending millions on bloated administration budgets and DEI consultants with six figure salaries, and return to the basics of core subjects.
During the COVID school closures, thousands of Kentucky parents could actually see what their kids were being taught online. They didn't like it. Parents want time-tested, back to basics teaching. Parents don't want their schools focused on social-emotional learning or cultural activism; they just want their kids to learn to read.
It's elitist to tell parents they should be happy with a one-size-fits-all option, denying them the freedom to seek options that will help their children learn, grow and thrive.
Let's give all our kids a fighting chance at a better life, Kentucky. Let's vote yes on Amendment 2.
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