State Table
Common Ground Kentucky
Case Study
In Kentucky, Kentucky Civic Engagement Table and the Protect Our Schools Kentucky Coalition mobilize voters in defense of public school funding
The Challenge
Across the country, public schools are underfunded, teachers are underpaid, and students aren’t getting the quality education they deserve. Meanwhile, more resources are funneled to expensive private and charter schools, many of which are unaccountable to the public. Students of color, TLGBQIA+ students, immigrant students, and students from families trying to make ends meet have bigger hurdles to overcome at school. In Kentucky, a constitutional amendment presented to voters in November titled Amendment 2 would have threatened Kentucky’s long standing constitutional commitment to funding public education. Instead, it would have allowed the legislature to divert public money away from already underfunded public schools to unaccountable private schools and charter schools.
The Approach
To defeat Amendment 2, the Kentucky Civic Engagement Table joined the Protect Our Schools Kentucky coalition to educate and mobilize voters about the harmful impacts of the amendment through canvassing, text and phone banks, and volunteer events. The coalition worked to overcome deceptive messaging peddled by Amendment 2 supporters about “school choice,” with counters like “public dollars for public schools.” The Protect Our Schools website served as an organizing hub providing Kentuckians with multiple ways to get involved in the campaign and featured a downloadable messaging toolkit, fact sheet, voter pledge, donation link, and volunteer page.
“Kentuckians proved that pro-democracy is a winning value. In fact, it won in all 120 counties! We were grateful to be part of a fantastic coalition of students, teachers, parents, and everyday Kentuckians from across the state who made this win possible by centering trusted messengers and staying in alignment with each other in our values, messaging, and field work. We’re excited for the momentum our collective work is building.”
– Aja Holston-Barber, Acting Executive Director of the Kentucky Civic Engagement Table
Our Impact
Organizing strategies implored by the coalition proved to be successful as Kentucky voters in all 120 counties rejected Amendment 2 by thirty points in November.
Conclusion
A room filled with Kentucky organizers receiving canvassing training by the League of Women Voters
Give to the People Power Fund to support on-the-ground organizing.
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