WHY BOONE COUNTY, KENTUCKY MATTERS TO EVERYONE ---- A FOLLOWUP
Just 90 Miles Down The Road In Somerset Its Time To Pay The Piper
On October 15, 2024 a mere three months past which seems like a life-time, I published WHY BOONE COUNTY, KENTUCKY MATTERS TO EVERYONE. The point of that article was to show how power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely even on the local level. But there was also a larger point - even in a theoretical non-partisan election the consequences of our inattention can and will and have resulted in a stealing of our constitutional rights. And because the people who are responsible for that theft are bullies and cowards we are forced to resort to costly and lengthy legal remedies to regain what we already have.
The narrower issue of Why Boone County Matters was a state-wide ballot issue known as Amendment 2. Amendment 2 had it passed, would have allowed the state legislature to consider whether public funds could be used for private education. There is a bit more to the issue than that and if you want the details read Why Boone County Matters and the several other pieces I wrote on Amendment 2 in the Section, The Boone County Papers.
Now on to the corruption and the theft of rights.
During the debate on Amendment 2 a great deal of hyperbole and “misinformation” was presented by people who we elected to oversee our school system — the Commonwealth’s Department of Education and a number of county school boards who used their official capacity, on official time, in official space to oppose Amendment 2.
What the Superintendent of Education and a number of County Boards of Education did to state their opposition to Amendment 2 violated Kentucky statute KRS65.013:
65.013 Tax dollars not to be used to advocate for or against public question on ballot.
Local, state, and federal tax dollars shall not be used to advocate, in partial terms, for or against any public question that appears on the ballot. For purposes of this section, "local" means and includes any city, county, urban-county government, consolidated local government, unified local government, charter county government, or special district.
Effective: June 29, 2021
History: Created 2021 Ky. Acts ch. 197, sec. 74, effective June 29, 2021.
There are three things to note. First, the language is clear and unambiguous, an elected official cannot use his or her official position during an official meeting to advocate for or against a ballot measure. Period.
Second, this law had been in effect for a bit more than three years when Amendment 2 was place on the state ballot. Every board on every level in the state should have been we’ll aware of it.
Third, there is no penalty attached to violation of this law, making it pointless. Hopefully our state legislature is correcting that this session.
So why am I revisiting this issue? Because what happened in Kentucky caught the attention of a nationally recognized advocate for school choice, Corey DeAngelis. DeAgenlis who commented on the Pulaski County School Board’s FaceBook page “…criticized the Pulaski County School District’s illegal use of taxpayer resources to advocate against….” Amendment 2. As a result of Mr. DeAngelis’ criticism the Pulaski County Board of Education extended their use of the aptly named ‘bully pulpit’ and blocked him from commenting on its Facebook page and turned off the comments on that topic so that no one else could chime in.
And there you have it — a County School Board broke the law by using the People’s money to oppose Amendment 2 and when called out on their illegal activity they willingly violated the First Amendment right of free speech of Corey DeAngelis AND that of every citizen of Pulaski County who may have sided with Mr. DeAngelis’ position but were prevented from so doing.
Mr. DeAngelis has sued the members of the Pulaski County School Board AND their FaceBook Page Administrator. He is seeking damages i.e. money not from the People of Pulaski County but from the individual Board members. Mr. DeAngelis might do well to make this a class action suit but as a practical matter a victory for him will be a victory for all.
To the People of Kentucky: We deserve what we vote for or fail to vote for. The future of your children and grand children and all their generations depend on your active participation in every level of governance. IF you are wondering how we allowed ourselves to be overtaken from within so easily — its because we were too lazy to care.
To the rest of the nation? Delete “Kentucky” insert “your state here”.
Union, Kentucky
17 January 2025
T -3