By Eddie Campbell, Sharron Oxendine, and Jim Sproul

Make no mistake about it, public education is on the ballot this November. This is not just another policy debate—this is a fight for the future of public education in Kentucky.

As teachers in the classroom and as current and past presidents of the Kentucky Education Association (KEA), which has advocated for public education for more than 150 years, we have devoted our lives to ensuring that every child, no matter where they come from, has access to a strong, well-funded public school.

Ballot Amendment 2 threatens to rip away critical public school funding that is desperately needed to ensure a quality public education for our current and future students. If a majority votes yes at the ballot box, this amendment will allow taxpayers dollars to funnel from our local public schools into unaccountable private schools in Louisville, Lexington, and Northern Kentucky.

If Ballot Amendment 2 is passed, it will have a devastating impact on our local public schools here in Appalachia—and in all rural areas like ours in Eastern Kentucky. If this amendment passes, it will strike us at the very heart and soul of our communities—our public schools. The schools where our kids build their dreams and aspirations through math, science, history, and literature that they learn in the classroom, and through activities like sports, music, art, and technology where they gain the confidence to chart a bright and hopeful future.

In our roles as both classroom teachers and leaders of our association, each of us has seen firsthand the impact underfunding our public schools has on students and educators. Educators are continually being asked to do more and more with less. Many reach into their own pockets to fill the financial gap so their students have the basic resources they need for opportunity and success.

If Ballot Amendment 2 passes, it will rob our schools of even more resources and make it harder to provide every child a fair shot at success. This isn’t about politics—this is about standing up for every student, every teacher, every school worker, and the very future of public education in our towns, communities, and commonwealth. A NO vote on Ballot Amendment 2 is a vote for the heart and soul of Kentucky’s local public schools and the communities we live in and serve.

Voting NO on Ballot Amendment 2 is not just a choice—it’s a fight for the future of Kentucky’s children and our public schools. Our tax dollars should be invested in the 90 percent of students who attend public schools. It should not be funneled into private schools who can pick and choose their students—and reject those they don’t want.

Instead of creating a voucher system the de-funds our public schools, our elected leaders in Frankfort should be focused on fixing our statewide teacher shortage and underfunded classrooms, finding ways to expand early childhood programs and fully funding bus transportation. Solutions to these problems will help all students, parents, and citizens in our communities. Rural Kentucky cannot afford to have its hard-earned tax dollars stripped away and sent to private schools in urban areas. That’s what will happen if Ballot Amendment 2 passes.

We must remember that a NO vote to reject this amendment isn’t just about dollars and cents—it’s about protecting our local public schools that are the heart of our small towns, and where every child deserves a fair shot at a quality education. Voting NO on Ballot Amendment 2 is a vote for our children, for our communities, and for the future of public education in Kentucky. Please do not let our schools down.

For more than a century our constitution has provided a clear framework for the commonwealth’s responsibility to establish and maintain a system of public schools that serve all students—rich or poor—fairly. Ballot Amendment 2 will set aside seven sections of the Kentucky Constitution (Sections 59, 60, 171, 183, 184, 186, and 189.) to change that. These sections are the legal bedrock that protects public education in Kentucky.

By carving up our constitution with these exemptions, Ballot Amendment 2 undermines the foundations and framework of our education system. This is not just about implementing a voucher system to weaken our public schools—it’s about weakening our constitution and the protections it ensures—that every Kentuckian is entitled to a quality public education system that is accessible and accountable. Gutting our constitution is not the answer to improving our schools.

Kentucky’s future depends on strong, well-funded public schools that serve all students. Public school educators oppose this amendment because they know it will hurt the students they serve.  We ask you to join us and the thousands of public school educators like us across the Commonwealth to Vote NO on Ballot Amendment 2 in November. Together, we can stand strong for our local public schools and ensure a bright future for every Kentucky student.

Eddie Campbell is a teacher and current president of the Kentucky Education Association. Sharron Oxendine and Jim Sproul both are retired teachers and previously served as president of the Kentucky Education Association.