NOTICE: All views and opinions represented in this article are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of any employee at Woodford County High School or Woodford County Public Schools.
“Money is the root of all evil” and never has this phrase been more relevant than to voters in Kentucky right now.
Next week, a new amendment is on the ballot for Kentucky: Amendment 2. Amendment 2 proposes a new voucher system in which state funds are distributed to private school families in hopes of decreasing the price they have to pay for their education. In theory, this sounds like a productive idea that will benefit families across the Commonwealth. That is until you realize that the proposed plan is to dip into the state’s public school reserves to follow through on the vouchers promised in Amendment 2.
Many parents at private schools are dissatisfied with having to pay so much for their child’s education. To combat this lawmakers proposed Amendment 2. This amendment would write a blank check to private schools to be used on these vouchers. However, there is no way that the government could regulate exactly how these schools use the money. There is always a chance that the promises of vouchers made in this amendment could be void. If this were the case, not only would private school tuition still be high, but public schools would have a large decrease in their funding for the benefit of wealthy corporations, not individuals longing for better education.
What will Kentucky look like with Amendment 2 in place? Well, it will be very difficult for our public schools to stay the same quality that they are now. Since there will be a 1.19 Billion (with a B) dollar cut to their budget, schools may have to resort to doing away with programs that they can no longer afford. To take a closer look at the issues that arise with this amendment we can simply look at the State of Florida. Florida implemented their own voucher law this past year and surveys and first-hand interviews show students reporting that they’ve seen an obvious decrease in their school’s art programs: such as theater, band, choir, and orchestra. If this amendment gets passed there is no doubt that our arts program will be the first to have funding cut. If you care about the arts, you should encourage friends and family to become educated on the negative impact of Amendment 2.
How do we know that this money is going to well-governed schools? We don’t. Charter and private schools can run however they’d like to. Leaders of the school could simply be the people who bought it. Millionaires who bought the school with no prior knowledge of education can take control over thousands of children’s education. Some leaders do not have the experience or the knowledge to run these private schools and they get away with it because they are not checked by the federal government. Public school standards can also not be enforced on private and charter schools. Students can be taught anything that the school officials want to be taught. All other important subjects are optional. Do we really want to be giving our money to schools that have unchecked powers? We can’t give private schools our money and expect them not to adhere to public school education standards.
Alumni of GSP, GSA, and GSE should also be mindful when placing their vote at the polls. Decreasing public school funding would decrease the opportunity for free, public programs catered toward students. With the amount of money given to private schools, these state-sponsored programs would only be able to take a much lower amount of students. Or students may possibly have to pay to attend these camps. Opportunities for students in Kentucky would be taken away by this harmful amendment.
Another important factor to consider is the separation of church and state. Many private schools are associated with religion. For the government to give them money would go against not only the state constitution but the American constitution as well. The government supporting religious schools completely violates the freedom of religion American citizens were promised.
If someone is wealthy enough to go to a public school, then they should be able to do that. But we should not punish public schools with this amendment by taking away their funding. Do your teachers, your peers, and your community a favor by voting NO on Amendment 2 this November.
