Public education group launches listening tour to build campaign for Kentucky schools

Yahoo

27-05-2025

Addison Lowry, a Jefferson County high school student, speaks at the podium during a Protect Our Schools press conference. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)
LOUISVILLE — An organization that led a statewide campaign against last year's proposed constitutional amendment to allow the legislature to fund nonpublic schools is seeking more insight about education from communities across Kentucky.
Protect Our Public Schools, which has transitioned to a wider education advocacy role following the defeat of Amendment 2 in November, was one of the highest fundraising political action committees against the amendment. Now, the coalition has launched a listening tour in 10 Kentucky cities to gather input and build a campaign for pro-education legislation in Frankfort.
Ahead of a forum in Louisville on Thursday, Jefferson County Teachers Association President Maddie Shepherd told reporters that Protect Our Schools is 'in a unique position right now to chart a course for our kids' future.' She said the feedback the organization collects in the 10 forums 'will inform a larger, broader shared campaign about what all of Kentucky schools need.'
Addison Lowry, a Jefferson County high school student, said that 'community leaders and local voices were the key' to the movement against Amendment 2 last year and argued that the same strategy will be effective in campaigning on behalf of public education in the future.
'This effort won't be led by Frankfort lobbyists, but by the people who live with the consequences of decisions made in Frankfort every day — the folks who drive through the bus, the students who ride that bus, those who teach in classrooms, pack the lunches and raise the kids in our communities,' Lowry said. 'We believe that those closest to the problem should be the ones helping shape the solution, and that's exactly what this campaign is about.'
Protect Our Schools held its first listening stop in Owensboro. The next dates and locations are Bowling Green on June 10 and Lexington on July 15. The organization will announce future dates and locations online at protectourschoolsky.com.
During a forum, those who attend are asked about challenges in their communities and about what they would like teaching and learning for students to be in their areas. They also discuss how to make those goals a reality.
Lowry said that by the end of the year, Protect Our Schools hopes to 'have built a more localized, robust coalition than ever before ready to organize for the future students deserve.'
When lawmakers return to Frankfort in January for the 2026 legislative session, they will deliberate the next biennial state budget and decide which programs to fund with state dollars. Protect Our Schools plans to compile the feedback from its forums into a legislative campaign that focuses on reinvesting in the state's public schools.
Education funding has been a contentious topic between public school advocates and Republican lawmakers in recent years. While some groups like the Kentucky Education Association have argued paying teachers more would incentivize more people to go into the profession, Republicans have argued the General Assembly, controlled by the GOP, has provided a historic level of K-12 education funding.
Public education funding nationwide has faced uncertainty as the Trump administration reviews federal funding for K-12 schools. In Kentucky, all but two school districts signed an agreement with the administration to adhere to new restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools and avoid the possibility of losing federal funding. Recently, the U.S. Department of Education denied a $10.6 million request to extend COVID relief funding submitted by the Kentucky Department of Education on behalf of school districts for nine projects.