LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Inside of an old church in Louisville's California neighborhood, 28 students in grades pre-K through 5th grade end their school day with a track meet.
Coleman Preparatory Academy, a private school in west Louisville, is inspired by HBCUs, or historically black colleges and universities.
"All students aren't going to be educated well in the same setting, and that needs to be catered to," said Asa Coleman, founder of the school.
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Coleman is an advocate for Amendment 2 -- a constitutional amendment that voters will decide on in November -- which would put taxpayer dollars from public schools into private or charters schools.
The constitutional amendment is:
"To give parents choices in educational opportunities for their children, are you in favor of enabling the General Assembly to provide financial support for the education costs of students in kindergarten through 12th grade who are outside the system of common (public) schools?"
A "yes" vote would change the constitution to allow for public funds to go towards private schools, while a "no" vote would keep that money for public schools.
If voters change the state constitution, the money would not flow immediately. Lawmakers would then have to craft the rules.
Coleman said she had to turn away 45 students this year because she can't offer assistance for the $7,200 tuition.
"Families should be able to make a choice, and it should not be based off of finances," Coleman said.
Louisville Urban League president and CEO Lyndon Pryor is voting no.
"We fundamentally believe that public dollars should go to public education," Pryor said.
Coleman said tuition vouchers can give all students the chance for school choice, regardless of the family's socioeconomic status or the location of their home.
"Do we care about all the students, the ones that are slipping through the cracks, the ones that are getting pushed along just so that they could say that they passed, or do we really care about them being educated?" Coleman said. "If we do, then it's less about protecting public schools and it's more about making sure kids are getting what they need."
Pryor said vouchers won't help low-income families because of the tuition rates for private schools are "by and large are still far more expensive than what the average student or family is going to be able to afford even with a voucher."
Kentucky Registry of Election Finance reports released Tuesday show the two main coalitions in the state are raising millions for the issue.
Protect Our Schools KY, the coalition against Amendment 2, reported raising $3,054,930.00 since May.
Kentucky Students First raised just about half of that amount. The coalition for the school choice measure raised $1,533,445.00.
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