It's been a tug of war for years, a back and forth battle between public and private schools in Kentucky: Who gets what funding and where does it come from? Well, that issue is about to get a lot more complicated.
The Kentucky Senate just passed a controversial "school choice" bill. We'll get to vote on it come November and decide whether taxpayer dollars should fund private and charter schools.
Now, there's an important distinction to make here. The bill itself will not fund private or charter schools. It's simply asking us, the voters, if we want to amend the Kentucky constitution and give lawmakers the option to fund such schools in the future.
This is a huge deal, and I can only imagine how much this will stir the pot come November.
Gov. Beshear has said he won't support the bill but, remember, he can't veto amendment bills either.
Constitutional amendment bills have a higher threshold for passage in the legislature. They need a vote of three-fifths from members of both chambers, not just a simple majority. So that's encouraging.
This isn't your run-of-the-mill bill that will rush through Frankfort. I'd like to think a lot of time and energy will be put into this given the major implications it'll have on our local students and their education system.
Where do you stand on the issue? Call or share on Facebook. I'm Dale Woods, and that's my Point of View.
