Kentucky Republican, Democratic party leaders ramp up appeals to voters on Amendment 2 | CPT PPP Coverage

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – At a get out the vote rally Thursday hosted at Jefferson Memorial Forest, the Republican Party of Jefferson County called on voters to vote Republican up and down the ballot in November.

US Senator Rand Paul was a featured speaker, endorsing Republican candidates at the state and local level, and appealing to voters on the issue of school choice.

Paul has been an outspoken advocate for Kentucky Amendment 2, a state constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would allow state tax dollars to go to non-public schools.

“If you’re a poor kid in a poor part of Jefferson County, you’re getting short changed and you’re never getting ahead until you try something new and that’s school choice and economic freedom,” Paul said.

It’s an issue that’s divided Kentucky voters on both sides of the aisle.

A “yes” vote on Amendment Two would allow the General Assembly to provide state funding to students outside of public schools. That would include private and charter schools, as well as homeschooling.

A “no” vote would keep that state funding for public schools.

Charlie Bell, the vice chair of the Jefferson County Republican Party, who is a former charter school principal, says Amendment 2 would give parents the ability to let their tax dollars go toward a school that might be a better fit for their child than public schools.

“You cannot deny a kid into a charter school and that’s a myth,” Bell said. “Charter schools are public schools in the aspect of anybody can go to the school.”

Bell, like other voters who support the amendment, sees it as a way to give parents more control over their child’s education.

“If a child is allotted a certain amount of money, just a portion of that would go to a charter school, the rest would still go to public school,” Bell said.

However, Kentucky Democratic Party leaders argue it would only further defund public education. Across the state, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman has been on the road urging voters to vote “no” on the amendment.

Coleman held a press conference Thursday at Ironworkers Local 44 in Boone County to discuss the harms she says the amendment would pose to public schools. Coleman will hold another event on Amendment 2 in Louisville Monday at Teamsters Local 89, located at 3813 Taylor Blvd.

“Every Kentucky child deserves access to a high-quality education, not just the kids whose parents know how to apply for a school voucher,” Coleman said.

Coleman argues Amendment 2 would take vital tax dollars away from public schools across the Commonwealth, especially in rural communities where the majority of families rely on public school.

“This is a matter of the tax dollars that would normally stay in this community or in rural communities actually being sent to places like Lexington and Louisville because those are the centers of where private schools exist,” Coleman said.

The deadline to register to vote in the general election in Kentucky is Monday, Oct. 7.

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