This story was initially published with incorrect data regarding Calvary Christian School’s student body size; it has been updated to reflect the correct data.
2024 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Kevin Dailey doesn’t think school choice is the real issue behind Amendment 2, a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot this fall to allow state funding for schools outside of the current public school system.
The Covington-bred public middle school teacher said Kentuckians have the choice of private school or homeschooling their children right now.
“The issue is resources. And to take a community that needs resources and pump them into a community that doesn’t is antidemocratic and unjust in my view,” the Ballyshannon Middle School teacher told LINK nky.
Amendment 2 would allow state lawmakers to provide public funds for schools outside of the state’s system of “common schools” or public schools. That could potentially put Kentucky among the ranks of nearly 30 private school choice states, including all seven surrounding states, according to data from the group EdChoice Kentucky that supports the proposed amendment.
School vouchers could potentially be approved to cover a portion of private school tuition, depending on what lawmakers decide, should the measure pass. Other funding options (tax credits, funding for charter schools, etc.) could also be possible should the amendment pass.
The proposed amendment was put on the Nov. 5 statewide ballot by lawmakers earlier this year after recent court rulings blocked two state laws, one allowing public funds for public charter schools and the other allowing tax credits for private school donors.
In NKY, the majority of non-public schools are run by the Diocese of Covington which operates 38 schools, all but two located in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties. Tuition among the diocese’s NKY schools varies: a sampling of base tuition rates by diocesan schools posted online ranged from $3,400 per child for parishioners and $4,500 per child for nonparishioners in 2023-24 at Saint Augustine Parish in Covington (one of the diocese’s five “urban grade” schools, along with Holy Cross, Holy Trinity, Prince of Peace and St. Anthony which have different rates) to $9,835 per student in-diocese and $10,730 per student out of diocese for 2024-25 at the all-male high school Covington Catholic. Many schools have tuition assistance.
Outside of the Diocese of Covington, non-public school options in NKY include homeschooling and a handful of non-Catholic private schools, including Calvary Christian School, a religious school in Covington with a student body of 520 from preschool through high school. That school’s annual base K-12 tuition for 2024-25 posted online ranges from $8,840 per full-day kindergarten and elementary student to $9,500 per middle school student and $10,310 per high school student.
The EdChoice Kentucky website says giving Kentuckians K-12 “education options that best fit their children” is the reason for the ballot measure. The website calls Amendment 2 “our chance to help an entire generation of Kentucky students succeed,” citing poor performance of many of the state’s school children.
“Barely one-third of Kentucky students are proficient in math, and less than half are reading at grade level. Every year delayed means that thousands more students remain trapped in a classroom that clearly isn’t right for them,” the website said.
As for the EdChoice Kentucky organization, its board of directors includes several individuals who work with or for private schools. One of those individuals, Elizabeth Ruehlmann, is a development director with the Diocese of Covington.
Opposed to the amendment are groups like Protect Our Schools KY. The statewide group, publicly supported by several NKY educators, has said Amendment 2 (which it calls the voucher amendment) would drain public school resources to pay for vouchers that cover private school tuition.
Dailey said research has shown that as school voucher use increases, private school tuition and enrollment grow disproportionately–with enrollment often lagging.
In Ohio specifically, the use of income-based school vouchers in six Dayton-area counties grew 313% from 2022-23 to 2023-24, while enrollment at schools accepting vouchers grew by 3.7% according to a June 7 article in the Dayton Daily News.
Although LINK nky could not verify any specific increase in tuition tied to school vouchers, a Jan. 2024 ProPublica article said Ohio private schools are encouraging families to apply for school vouchers after lawmakers there increased both the value and availability of vouchers last year. Voucher value increased to $8,407 maximum a year for high schoolers and $6,165 for lower grades, with availability expanded to all families, the report said.
“The more voucher money families receive, the less schools have to offer in financial aid. The voucher revenue also makes it easier to raise tuition,” said the report.
More tuition dollars, said Dailey, allows private schools to build better athletic facilities, recruit more teachers and so on.
“We need those teachers in public schools, too,” he told LINK.
Dailey made it clear in his interview with LINK that he isn’t anti-private school or anti-school choice. “What I am against is people taking money that is supposed to be for a public service, a democratic public service like public schools, and filtering it into communities that are making a conscious choice to depart from that public school system.”
While it’s uncertain if Amendment 2 has the votes to pass, EdChoice Kentucky said on its website that support is growing. It cites polls showing support for “educational choice” increasing among Kentuckians, from 72% in 2019 to 78% in 2022.
Dailey, however, told LINK nky he is hopeful the amendment won’t pass this fall.
“I don’t have a crystal ball,” he said. “But I know people who are in the public school system generally don’t agree with this model. I know teachers unions in Kentucky, whether it be AFT (American Federation of Teachers) 120 United or the Kentucky Education Association and their chapters don’t agree with this model. Kids who really need a public education and need these resources in order to have a fair shot, they’re not in favor of this either.
“So I’m optimistic that Kentucky voters will come together to make the right decision for Kentucky kids,” he said, “because that’s really what it’s all about.”