Education Commissioner Fletcher Firm Against Diverting Public Funds to Private Schools

Dr. Robbie Fletcher, Kentucky’s incoming education commissioner, takes over the state’s Department of Education on July 1st. Not long after, in November, Kentucky will vote on an amendment that has the potential to transform public education across the Commonwealth.

Constitutional Amendment 2 will allow voters to decide whether taxpayer funds should be allocated to private or charter schools. If adopted, lawmakers would have the option of using public monies to subsidize private or charter school education.

Fletcher has made it clear that he would not support the attempt.

“When I walk into the [voting] booth, I’m going to vote against the amendment,” he stated at a press conference on Monday. “Let me be very clear about that.” “I will vote against it because I do not believe that public funds should go to private organizations,” he said.

However, Fletcher underscored that as a public servant, he will accept Kentucky’s decision if it differs from his. “If the people of the Commonwealth vote for this, it will be my job, as commissioner, to help the state legislature – to help school systems, to help KDE – to implement that in the best way possible,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher will take on the post of education commissioner after a decade as superintendent of Lawrence County schools in eastern Kentucky. He began his career as a math and science teacher before rising to the position of assistant principal and then principal.

His predecessor, Jason Glass, had a turbulent tenure that included navigating schools through the COVID-19 outbreak and feuding with Republican lawmakers. Republican senators heavily criticized Glass for the state education department’s LGBTQ+-inclusive positions.

Fletcher was asked by a reporter last month about his thoughts on a sweeping policy passed by Republican lawmakers last year that prohibits transgender students from using the toilet that corresponds to their gender identification and permits teachers to refuse to refer to them by the pronouns they use.

“No matter what their background, no matter what the decisions they make, my goal will be to love all children,” he said.

During his presentation before the Senate committee, Fletcher pledged to collaborate with lawmakers, which sparked enthusiasm among Republican members. He also lauded lawmakers for the recently passed two-year state spending plan, calling it the “best budget for education” he could recall. On Monday, he highlighted that he will lobby for additional resources, including teacher pay raises.

“I will always ask for more resources,” Fletcher stated. “What better investment can we make than in our children?” This includes things like teacher salary.

“If we ever get to the point where we’re the top ten in the nation, I may quit advocating for teacher raises…so you’ll see me a lot of times over the next two, three, four years – and maybe beyond – advocating for resources.”