Kentucky’s lieutenant governor leans on her teaching roots in fighting a school choice measure

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Democratic Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman was in campaign mode Monday, railing against a ballot measure that would allow Kentucky tax money to go toward students attending private and charter schools.

The issue hits home for Coleman, a former public school teacher and administrator who has taken a lead role campaigning against the proposal on the statewide ballot. If a simple majority of Kentucky voters approve it next month, the measure would remove constitutional barriers that have blocked the state’s Republican-dominated Legislature from using public funds to support private school education.

Speaking at a union hall in Kentucky’s largest city, Coleman warned of dire consequences for public schools, especially in rural areas, if the measure wins approval.

“We simply don’t have the resources to fund two separate systems of education,” Coleman said. “But also we shouldn’t be because public dollars should stay in public schools.”

With no statewide races on the ballot, the school choice measure has turned into the most intensely debated issue of the fall campaign in the Bluegrass State. Both sides have run TV ads, mounted grassroots campaigns and accused each other of spreading disinformation about the issue.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«More election coverage» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-parsely-title=«Related Stories» data-is-hub-peek="" data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> More election coverage <use xlink:href="#link-caret" xmlns:xlink=«http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink»> </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> A Michigan Senate candidate aims to achieve what no Republican has done in three