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Kentucky GOP lawmaker discussed potential voucher system with private school

GOP Rep. Randy Bridges from Paducah during the 2023 legislative session.
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission
/
KPR
GOP Rep. Randy Bridges from Paducah during the 2023 legislative session.

According to a summary sent to parents, a Kentucky state representative told a Christian school that private schools directly receiving state funding for tuition is a possible outcome if Amendment 2 passes.

Proponents for Amendment 2 have publicly remained adamant that altering the state constitution to allow public education funds to go to private schools doesn’t mean they are calling for vouchers. Instead, they say it would open the door to conversations about a range of so-called “school choice” measures.

However, one Republican who voted for the bill told a private school how parents may be able to use state funds to pay for enrollment at the school.

GOP Rep. Randy Bridges from Paducah spoke to the board of one of the two private schools in his western Kentucky district, describing what could happen if voters approved Amendment 2 in November.

In a summary of the conversation sent to parents at Community Christian Academy, Bridges described a system where private schools could receive the state funding that would have gone to public schools, often referred to as the per-pupil SEEK allocation. Essentially, he described a voucher system.

“Mr. Bridges stated that processes haven’t officially been discussed, but he leaned towards the fact that parents would apply for their SEEK funds through the state and then the funds would be distributed directly to the schools,” the school told parents.

According to the summary, the school estimated that would be roughly $1.4 to $2.1 million per year for currently enrolled students, based on current SEEK funding.

Bridges is one of the 65 House Republicans who voted in favor of putting Amendment 2 on the ballot to give the state legislature the ability to spend state funds on private or charter education.

Bridges, when reached for comment about the meeting, said they were merely discussing options, and that he fully supports public schools.

“My hope is to help underprivileged children and children that have needs that the public schools can't meet,” Bridges said. “We were talking about possibilities. It was visionary, but nothing down pat.”

Amy Carrico with Community Christian Academy confirmed the meeting occurred but said the word “voucher” was not used in the email and that Bridges was not directly quoted.

Through the expensive campaign for Amendment 2, proponents have consistently assured voters that nothing is set in stone. The legislature declined to attach specific policy to the amendment, with GOP leadership instead saying they would take up the issue in later sessions should the amendment pass.

Senate Floor Leader Damon Thayer told WVXU Monday that vouchers aren’t “even on the table.” Under a voucher system, funds typically spent by a school district are given to a participating family to pay partial or full tuition for their child’s private school.

Thayer said Republican lawmakers have only discussed things like a scholarship tax credit — that allows individuals or corporations to divert their tax dollars to a scholarship fund — and charter schools. The GOP-controlled legislature has already attempted both of those measures, though they were struck down by the courts as unconstitutional.

“They're really trying to scare people into voting ‘no.’ First of all, there has been absolutely no discussion of vouchers in the eight years Republicans have held the supermajority in Frankfort,” Thayer said. “And I would know. I'm the Senate Majority [Floor] Leader. I'm in every conversation.”

Opponents meanwhile, have campaigned heavily on what they call the “voucher amendment.” Eddie Campbell, president of the Kentucky Education Association, said he is confident that is the final intention behind the amendment.

“It's going to take money from our local public schools and send it to private institutions. So by very definition, it is a voucher. Period,” Campbell said.

In the Community Christian Academy summary sent to parents, Bridges appeared to say that no money would be “taken directly from public schools” but they could “lose funding if students were to leave their school.”

When asked where the money would come from to fund students currently enrolled in private schools, Bridges said it could be taken out of the general fund, the pool of money from which lawmakers create the biannual budget.

“That's where the SEEK money comes from. It's a general budget,” Bridges said. “You got to realize better than 50% of the school funding comes from property taxes. And I've heard no one, absolutely no one, talk about changing the property tax structure whatsoever, and that all goes to public schools.”

Bridges also emphasized his pride in the public schools in his area, saying he has public school teachers in his family and is a product of them himself. But he pointed to Jefferson County Public Schools, saying those students “deserve better.”

“We don't want to take any money away from public schools, but we want to have avenues for people with children that the public schools just can't meet their needs,” Bridges said.

Jason Bailey with the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, who is against the amendment, said their research has shown voucher programs can have exploding costs that can blow a hole in a state budget, especially due to the recent trend toward universal vouchers with no income requirements.

“They're trying to avoid that controversy, and trying to avoid the unavoidable, which is that there will have to be subtraction from other public services, likely public education,” Bailey said. “I think there's an attempt to try to act as though it won't cost much, or that it won't hurt other expenses. But that's not how budgets work.”

Campbell argued that funds should be directed towards public schools instead of creating a new voucher system, including pouring more money into the SEEK formula, teacher raises and universal pre-Kindergarten.

Kentucky Public Radio's Joe Sonka contributed to this report.

State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Sylvia is the Capitol reporter for Kentucky Public Radio, a collaboration including Louisville Public Media, WEKU-Lexington, WKU Public Radio and WKMS-Murray. Email her at sgoodman@lpm.org.