FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — As Kentucky voters ponder whether to allow some of their tax dollars to support students attending private schools, the high-stakes debate has turned into a test of influence between popular political heavyweights — Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul.
Both have appeared in TV ads and headlined events to press their case on the ballot question to be decided in the November election. With no statewide office up for grabs, and the state safely in the GOP presidential column, the school choice measure is Kentucky's most hotly debated election issue — and yet another testing ground for a contentious question with sweeping implications for the future of school funding nationally.
Beshear and Paul have entered the fray with gusto, reflecting the wide gulf between them on a divisive issue that could gauge their powers of persuasion.
Paul supports the ballot proposal, which would remove constitutional barriers blocking state lawmakers from using public funds to support private school education if voters ratified it.
The goal, he says, is to bolster parental choice and increase competition for students and teachers, which would benefit public and private schools alike.
“Competition makes us all better,” Paul said during a recent stop in western Kentucky.
Beshear is adamantly opposed to the measure, known as Amendment 2, denouncing it as a “money grab” that would give lawmakers free rein to send tax money to unaccountable private schools. It's a matter of basic math — such a reallocation would lead to less funding for public schools, he said.
“They have less money for (staff) raises," the governor said recently in Lexington. "They have less money for resources for our students. They have less to do everything that we ask them to do."
Paul and Beshear are proven voter-getters in bright red Kentucky, having won statewide elections three times each while also displaying aspirations for national office. Paul ran for president in 2016 but was swamped by Donald Trump. Beshear was in the running to become Kamala Harris’ running mate before she chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Paul, in his third Senate term, isn't up for reelection until 2028. Beshear is term-limited after winning reelection to a second term that ends in late 2027.
Donations totaling in the millions have poured in to support both sides of the school choice issue. According to AdImpact, which tracks campaign spending on advertising, two leading groups funding the campaign had spent about the same amount on ads in the race. Protect Our Schools Kentucky and the Protect Freedom PAC spent roughly $4.4 million as of Tuesday. Protect Our Schools Kentucky, which opposes the amendment, has more than twice as much money in spots reserved between now and Election Day, the data shows.
The Kentucky amendment is one of three school choice measures going before voters in November. A Colorado measure would create a constitutional right to school choice for K-12 students. In Nebraska, voters will decide whether to repeal a new state law that funds private school tuition with state dollars.
A majority of states offer some sort of state-backed program to help cover private school costs.
In Kentucky, the debate presents a clear test of influence for Beshear and Paul, two of the state's most formidable politicians, said longtime political commentator Al Cross.
“Here they are, ideological poles apart, on an issue that used to be pretty much agreed on by Republicans and Democrats,” Cross said.
This isn't the first time Paul and Beshear have butted heads. The libertarian-leaning senator gave a blistering critique of the governor’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the restrictions Beshear imposed encroached on Kentuckians’ freedoms. Beshear said his actions saved lives.
Kentucky's Republican-supermajority legislature put the school choice measure on the ballot. The proposal wouldn’t establish policies for how funds could be diverted. Instead, it would clear the way for lawmakers to consider crafting such policies to support students attending private schools. Options could include tax credit scholarships, education savings accounts or vouchers.
The issue is especially sensitive in rural Kentucky, a GOP stronghold where public schools are the lifeblood of the community and typically among the largest employers.
Opponents of the ballot measure are making a concerted effort to win over rural voters. Beshear warns that areas “hurt the most would be the ones that would be described as red counties.”
“If Amendment 2 passes, you will see dollars move from rural Kentucky school systems into unaccountable urban private schools,” the governor said.
In his pitch for the measure, Paul pointed to statewide test scores showing fewer than half of Kentucky's public school students scoring “proficient” or “distinguished” in math and reading. Expanding school choice options would allow more low-income parents to send their children to private or charter schools that best fit their needs, he said.
Ultimately, it offers a chance to help end generational poverty, the senator said.
“Public schools can and do great things," Paul said. "But for some of the kids who, generation after generation, we’re losing to poverty and crime, we’ve got to try something that’s a little bit different.”
The school choice issue has been debated for years in Kentucky, as Republicans expanded their legislative majorities. Past efforts to expand school choice options were foiled by legal challenges, leading lawmakers to push for the ballot measure to amend the state constitution.
Kentucky’s Supreme Court in 2022 struck down a GOP-backed measure to award tax credits for donations supporting private school tuition. Currently, the state constitution only allows taxpayer money to fund “common schools,” which state courts have interpreted as public.
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Associated Press writer David A. Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, contributed to this report.