BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Warren County Public Schools reacted to Amendment 2, also known as the non-public education amendment, which could allow local taxpayer money to go to charter or private schools instead of public schools.

Some of the bill's advocates have said this will give more opportunity for people to have more of a choice to go to a charter school.

“No one school fits every child’s needs," said Jim Waters, president of the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions. "We’ve talked to many parents who have two or three children, and they’ll tell us, ‘Each of our children learn differently; each of them respond differently.’ We have great public schools in our state, we have great teachers, but no one size fits all.”

However, education officials in Warren County have expressed their disagreement with the bill. They said their current budget is already inadequate, so diverting public funds to private schools will only make it worse.

“When we’re looking at students that have limited English support, that have below grade-level learning, that are gifted and need to be challenged and our mainstream students who are right where they need to be but need that quality education, every student is impacted negatively when those resources are not available," said Brooke Vincent, Warren County Public Schools teacher. 

Warren County has seen vacant job applications that have been open for months. Rob Clayton, superintendent of Warren County Public Schools, said if public schools receive less taxpayer dollars, it could make that problem much worse.

Clayton said one reason the applications are vacant is the budget doesn’t allow them to provide more compensation.

“It is a challenge to provide competitive compensation for our employees that we desire to have working side-by-side alongside of our students," Clayton said. "It’s critical that we not de-invest but reinvest in our schools.”

One principal from Warren County weighed in on the matter as well and said public funds being allocated outside of public schools will also create a teacher shortage because of a lack of funds.

“Vouchers would make the shortage even worse, as we try to cut positions, and again, would require us to do more with less," said Pauletha Butts, principal for Warren County Public Schools

During the legislative session earlier this year, Majority Caucus Chair Rep. Suzanne Miles, R-Owensboro, said the section of the state constitution that prohibits public funds going to private schools is out of date and needs to be amended.

“We are in a different time and place right now," Miles said. "We are in a much more modern place than we were when the constitution was written. We have many more opportunities." 

The bill heads to the ballot where it will be decided by voters this November.