(Tampa Free Press)—The Liberty Justice Center has issued a demand letter on behalf of Kentucky taxpayers, accusing the Pulaski County School District of illegal election interference for using public resources to oppose a proposed ballot measure that would expand educational freedom in the state.
The school district posted messages on its official Facebook page advocating against Amendment 2, which would allow the state legislature to provide financial support for students attending non-public schools.
The Liberty Justice Center argues that this violates Kentucky law, which prohibits the use of public resources for political advocacy.
The Attorney General’s office has also issued a formal advisory reminding school districts that using school resources or time to advance personal political views is illegal. The Liberty Justice Center has demanded that the Pulaski County School District remove the messages and confirm that it will not engage in illegal advocacy in the future.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the post was removed with a message from Patrick Richardson, the Superintendent of Pulaski County Schools.
The Liberty Justice Center has taken similar action against school districts in Texas for opposing candidates who support greater educational freedom. In Denton County, this led to the first indictments of school officials for illegal electioneering in the state.
“It is illegal and immoral for school officials to use taxpayer funds to engage in political advocacy. It’s especially outrageous for school officials to use taxpayer money to oppose measures that would increase educational opportunities in their state,” said Dean McGee, Educational Freedom Attorney at the Liberty Justice Center.
The Liberty Justice Center has a track record of challenging the misuse of public funds for political purposes.
They’ve previously represented voters in Denton and Harris Counties, Texas, who objected to school officials using taxpayer money to oppose candidates supporting educational freedom.
These efforts led to investigations and, in Denton County, resulted in the first-ever indictments of school officials in Texas for illegal electioneering.