The fight for school choice in Kentucky will go on

Amendment 2, Kentucky's school choice constitutional ballot initiative, was soundly defeated during yesterday's election. Despite our best efforts, proponents of the amendment could not overcome the millions of dollars spent by teachers unions, or the prevarication machine of public school superintendents, that swayed public opinion.

But while I am disappointed, I remain undaunted. As I wrote for Kentucky Today, the fight for school choice will go on:

Kentucky’s education status quo, whereby affluent parents continue to enjoy education options but low- and middle-income families are stuck with whatever the local public school offers, will remain for the foreseeable future. But school choice advocates will not stop fighting.

One glimmer of hope may be a federal education tax credit that would encourage private donations to scholarship programs helping eligible students access nonpublic schools. Such legislation was recently passed by a House of Representatives committee. Kentucky’s education establishment would be powerless to stop families from participating in a federally sponsored program.

Above all, since the education establishment is going to maintain its monopoly, Kentuckians must insist on better outcomes. More than half of the state’s students at all grade levels are failing to achieve proficiency in reading and math. But that’s not, contrary to what the establishment says, because Kentucky’s schools are underfunded. In fact, Kentucky’s current budget reflects a record level of inflation-adjusted investment in the state’s public schools.

Meanwhile, a report from the Heritage Foundation found that Kentucky is one of the worst states in terms of getting a return on investment of education tax dollars. The analysis, which compares student achievement relative to the amount of money per pupil spent by the state on education, ranks Kentucky in 43^rd place among the 50 states.

Lawmakers and taxpayers should hold the line on giving the public school system more money until it produces better results, especially for students from low-income homes.

Read the whole thing here.