Kentucky Republican legislators passed a voucher bill, which now goes to Democratic Governor Andy Bashear. The Governor will likely veto the bill, but the legislature can override his veto with a simple majority. This is the ultimate vengeance against teachers, who organized in 2018 to fight the Republican plan to change teachers’ pensions.
The rightwing group EdChoice, formerly the Milton and Rose Friedman Foundation, was thrilled:
Public school supporters normally fight back in-person when pension reform and school choice are up for votes in Frankfort. But this year, Kentucky’s Capitol is closed to the public because of COVID-19, so the halls are empty. However, the bills dealing with those issues are still moving through.
“It’s a really big day,” said Andrew Vandiver with EdChoice Kentucky, a group that supports school choice.
After years of fighting for school choice, EdChoice Kentucky hoped to see it become law Tuesday.
“It’s just about fairness,” said Vandiver. “Trying to make sure that low to middle-income families have the same choice and opportunities that upper-income families have.”
There it is: the big voucher lie. Upper-income families spend $20,000-$30,000 for private-school tuition. Children with vouchers won’t be able to pay for the same schools as those chosen by upper-income families. Vouchers in Kentucky will be no greater, and probably less, than the cost of public school, likely $5,000 or less. Families can take their voucher to a low-quality religious school with uncertified teachers and principal, where they will be taught fake history and Biblical science.
A large body of research shows that vouchers have a negative impact on student achievement.
“Upper-income families spend $35,000-50,000 for private-school tuition.”
Really? In Kentucky?
Whatever they spend is more than the $4500 or so of the voucher, don’t you agree? Voucher proponents see this as away to save money so they usually make the voucher less than the per pupil cost of public school.
A $4500 voucher will definitely be less than the cost of an elite private school, yes.
Quick googling tells me the typical tuition for “elite” Kentucky private schools is in the low- to mid-20k range.
“Top” catholic schools seem to be around 10k, five or take.
Give it take, that is.
That is your “base” price for “the school”. Next start adding on all of the extras that are required/needed to attend……books, laptop, transportation….then $ dress code items, $ for food in the caf (private vendor), $ for extra-curricular activities etc. It adds up and no voucher will cover this fully.
key words: private vendors
$4,300 per student is a lot for taxpayers to stomach while they watch the schools send their students to D.C. for protests aimed at taking away the rights of individual men and women and boys and girls, who want to make their own decisions about birth control.
$4,300 is a lot to stomach when the taxpayer knows the school can discriminate in its hiring because the SCOTUS decision in Biel v. St. James Catholic school exempted the schools from civil rights employment laws.
$4,300 is a lot to stomach when taxpayers know the school administration follows the USCCB in opposing the Equal Rights Amendment. “The U.S. is the only major democracy in the world with a written constitution that does not have an Equal Rights Amendment.”
$4300 is a lot for a taxpayer to stomach knowing that dioceses have been bankrupted by payments to victims of priest abuse resulting from a widespread cover-up.
Everyone loves to invoke the Everyman of the “taxpayer.” But as much as it may sting, many Kentucky taxpayers may not see eye to eye with you.
In a democracy, we would know how many citizens agree with my statements.
In a representative democracy where limits on campaign financing have been eroded we get the view of the Koch’s enacted into laws and policies.
A majority of Kentucky voters may or may not favor racially segregated schools but, the latter preference does not equate to majority acceptance of Catholic propaganda or, evangelical propaganda for the children whose education is financed by taxpayers
First preference
Many children currently in private schools will get a subsidy from the state. Poor kids in public schools will get a voucher that will not give them THE SAME CHOICES AS UPPER-INCOME FAMILIES. I assume you agree that $4,500 won’t be enough to have the same choices as rich folks.
In addition to being awful legislation, here are some important points:
These “vouchers” were supposed to be only for public schools. Districts would have (and many already do) agreements with one another to allow students from another district to attend their schools. Sometimes these districts will charge tuition and these “vouchers” were to pay for that.
In the dark of the night, the House added private schools in Jefferson (Louisville), Fayette (Lexington) and Kenton (where this house member is from) counties to this bill.
The Senate added added Hardin (Elizabethtown), Daviess (Owensboro), Warren (Bowling Green), and Boone and Campbell (along with Kenton make up Northern KY) counties to the list.
The bill prohibits oversight of the education service provider (which can be anyone–no previous experience required) that will receive the donations to distribute to families.
Supposedly, this is a 5-year time limited pilot program. I’ll believe it when I see it–and I’m sure there will be a lot of “flighting” during this time.
This bill is a HUGE step backwards for Kentucky. The milestone Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) back in the early ’90s was written as a result of a Kentucky Supreme Court case about inequitable funding. If this isn’t inequitable funding, I don’t know what is.
https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/education/article249964599.html
Corrupt legislators often pull their stunts when the public is unaware of the crooked deals being made. Voters that support public education need to stop voting for Republicans. They want to dismantle public education, transfer public funds into private pockets and off load the state’s responsibility to its young people.
What’s the use of that veto?!
Ohio, I wondered the same thing. If a governor’s veto can be overridden with a simple veto, his veto is meaningless.