Voters in Colorado, Kentucky and Nebraska rejected taxpayer-funded voucher schemes at the ballot box
Voters in three states rejected the expansion of taxpayer-funded voucher schemes last week, similar to a policy that Republican legislators in Raleigh are keen to push forward before the year ends.
In Nebraska, 57% of voters rejected the state’s voucher program via a ballot initiative. Supporters of Nebraska public schools pointed to the mixed results of voucher expansion in Iowa, “which has seen the national rankings of its public schools slide since that program began,” according to the Nebraska Examiner.
In Kentucky, voters soundly defeated Amendment 2 with nearly 65% of the vote. Amendment 2 would have allowed public funding to be spent on private schools. The measure failed to win a single county.
And in Colorado, 52% of voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that opponents say could have permitted private school vouchers to be expanded in the state.
“Clearly, voters across the United States understand that public schools as a concept are under attack,” House Democratic Leader Robert Reives said. “North Carolina voters sent a message to Raleigh by electing Josh Stein as Governor, Mo Green as State Superintendent, and by breaking the Republican supermajority in the North Carolina House: Support our public schools. Further expansion of the taxpayer-funded voucher scheme in North Carolina would only erode our public schools and the families who rely on them.”