Dear Archbishop Kurtz,
I have been following the many iterations of HB 563 throughout the years and the underhanded way in which it has been pushed to the citizens of Kentucky. As a public school graduate with a daughter who graduated from JCPS, I’m acutely aware of the issues that public schools face. Also, as a family that moved here in 1975, I’m aware of how the perception of public schools in the wake of busing has fueled enrollment at Catholic schools in Jefferson County to levels much higher than other communities.
Yesterday’s bill and the process that brought it to a vote was a sham. Wealthy legislators used the same “it’s for the poor” argument they’ve used for years, while approving a bill that benefits people well above the median income in the state. Our legislators voted down measures of accountability, anti-discrimination, and background checks that would seem critical for any measure that is supposedly designed to help the poor and minority children who these same legislators say are being failed by our public schools. There is nothing in the bill that indicates private schools are required to accept and keep all children, regardless of ability to pay. Our public schools have no such luxury.
41% of JCPS students are White (non-Hispanic) per the latest Kentucky Report card. 36.5 percent are African American. Looking at NCES data for local Catholic High Schools, it’s more typical to see schools that are 90% or greater White, and less than 10% African American. Are we to believe that with the extensive alumni networks and corporate giving these high schools enjoy that Catholic schools can’t better reflect the community they serve? If you receive money from HB 563, are we to believe that private schools will become as inclusive, supportive, and concerned about serving ALL children as our public schools are? Since there are no real safeguards, how can we trust any real change will happen to support poor children or provide better outcomes?
This bill and previous bills were sold on a lie that they would help the poor and improve education. Are there any plans to reduce tuition to levels that poor people can afford? Will you track performance and demographics the same as public schools so that you can show that outcomes are truly better? Will you commit to enrolling and keeping children whose parents can’t afford tuition based on their own assessment, and not yours? Will you actively seek out and work with homeless children and their families?
You’re an intelligent man. You have lived here for a long time. Presumably you know the challenges faced in our community by people of color, the homeless, and the poor. You know that educational outcomes are fueled by many more factors than what happens inside a school. I would imagine you also know that our public schools must take all comers and work with children that would most likely be driven out of private schools for discipline, parental participation, or other factors. I’m sure that you’ve heard the unfair and mean spirited derision toward public schools, their students, and their teachers I’ve heard from fellow Catholics. Knowing these things, I can’t imagine how any Catholic leader would support what happened in Frankfort yesterday. I can’t fathom how they’d support legislation that will help wealthier families send their kids to private school, while taking money away from the schools that serve the poorest.
I have no problem with private education. My family has been a part of Catholic schools for decades. My wife, dad, and extended family have all treasured their Catholic school experiences. But as Catholics and Christians, I believe we’re called upon to be truthful, and work for what is best for all people, including education. HB 563 is not an honest bill. It is not a bill to help poor people. It is not a bill that does anything meaningful to improve educational outcomes for children. It’s simply a shift of already depleted public funds to private institutions sold on the backs of poor children and families who will not benefit from it. Catholic schools have no obligation or incentive to adjust their requirements to be more inclusive beyond the children they want to accept.
I would love to have an explanation of how you and the other Archbishops of Kentucky came to support this bill under the false pretenses with which it has been presented, and if I’m wrong about anything above, feel free to correct my perception and set me straight.
Sincerely,
Rob Mattheu
Louisville, KY