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Lesson: Public Schools Are a Winning Issue, Everywhere [1]
['David Pepper']
Date: 2025-08
How often does a gerrymandered statehouse cry uncle?
How often do Republican US senators join Democrats to demand the Trump administration back down from something awful it’s doing?
How often does the Administration actually back down?
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And how often do voters (of a red state) decisively reject a key part of the right-wing agenda?
The answer is…lately…these things almost never happen.
But they all happened in recent months regarding one issue. Which tells us something very important about…
…public schools.
And if we don’t learn from that lesson (and I mean at all levels, especially the highest ones), we are making a big mistake.
Here are quick details on each case from above:
Example 1:
In Ohio, we are stuck with a gerrymandered GOP statehouse supermajority. These lawless legislators pretty much do whatever they want (and tell people that), and they have more than enough votes to override Governor vetoes. (And they could care less about what the GOP governor thinks on anything).
So last week, our GOP state reps. called themselves back into session to try to override three Governor line item vetoes (kudos to DeWine) of parts of the state budget that would have undermined the financial health of local schools (given state underfunding of schools for a generation, pressure for local funding continues to rise).
And what happened when our lawless legislators tried to override the vetoes?
First, there was a loud, statewide outcry from schools and school leaders about the damage that would result to local schools and districts. (And from many of you…thank you!)
And in the end, they could only muster the votes to override one of the measures (the least damaging one). They didn’t even call a vote on the other two. That’s right, even a gerrymandered, veto-proof super-majority couldn’t find the votes to do something that would clearly have hurt public schools across Ohio. Some legislators just didn’t show up.
That’s interesting, isn’t it?
Example 2:
These days, GOP Senators are too cowardly to stand up to Trump on just about anything.
The Big Ugly Bill.
Unfit cabinet officials and nominees.
The Epstein scandal.
Tariffs that are spiking prices.
NIH cuts that are crushing research and jobs in the very states they represent.
On all of these, GOP Senators almost all cower. Every time.
But there was a recent exception to this shameless silence and complicity.
One issue emerged—one not even as high profile as the others in the national media—that prompted 10 GOP Senators to speak out against the administration.
What did they stand up on?
Public schools.
I wrote about this last week: 10 GOP Senators stood up to the administration’s freezing of $6 billion funds for publics school programs across the country. Yes, GOP politicians who are silent on almost everything were willing to call out the freeze, which was crippling public schools every day it lasted, and demand it be ended.
They actually defended the programs in a public letter: “This funding goes directly to state and local districts, where local leaders decide how the funding is spent, because as we know, local communities know how to best serve students and families…These funds go to support programs that enjoy longstanding, bipartisan support like after-school and summer programs that provide learning and enrichment opportunities for school aged children which also enables their parents to work and contribute to local economies….Withholding these funds will harm students, families and local economies.”
And these weren’t just any GOP Senators.
Yes, we’re used to seeing the names Murkowski and Collins occasionally stand up amidst usual cowering. And even McConnell of late.
But the seven others who signed the letter were from some of the most conservative states out there.
Who? Mike Rounds of South Dakota. Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice of West Virginia. John Boozman of Arkansas. Katie Britt of Alabama. Deb Fischer of Nebraska. And John Hoeven of North Dakota.
So, even in some of the most deep red states in the country, senators who almost never stray stood up to Trump for public schools
And my guess is a major reason they did this was because they were hearing across their states—including rural parts—how damaging those cuts would be.
So they wrote Trump and demanded the freeze be ended.
Hmmm. See the pattern now?
Example 3.
And then what happened?
Last Friday, the Trump administration actually caved on the issue, and released the billions that had been frozen all month long.
The pressure from those Senators, and from within these states, got to Trump and Russell Vought.
Now we really are seeing a lesson, aren’t we?
Example 4:
And then there’s the fourth example.
The case where voters across a red state absolutely rejected an issue at the heart of the GOP agenda—and the more red the county they were in, the more soundly they rejected it.
This was the referendum in Kentucky last November. I wrote about it at length here. It was a stunning rebuke against private school vouchers—and a dramatic win and embrace of public schools.
Long-time readers will remember that I drove to the Kentucky county that most opposed this referendum to hear from folks directly.
And what did they tell me? About the community with their local public school—Robertson County School—and the risk the referendum posed to that school. Here’s what people told me:
“Private schools don’t need the money from the county schools.”
“It would take away dollars from public schools.”
“Funds for our schools would’ve been taken away.”
“We barely have enough public funds for our kids programs.”
“They thought for years that they were going to close this school.”
“[There’s already] worry that the school might be shut down.”
“The school has been threatened for many years.”
Did I mention that this was a county that voted 80-20 for Donald Trump?
So in red states—and in red areas of red states—and with conservative politicians (and voters), public schools are still respected as cornerstones of the community.
See the lesson now? Please say yes!
Learn the lesson:
Which begs the question—why do we not hear more from Democrats, especially at the highest level, on this.
I’m talking about an unflinching embrace of the value of public schools to kids, families and communities, and a blunt calling out of the damage being done to those schools by the reckless privatization schemes of recent years.
Because if you study the pattern above, it sure is a hint that this is a potent issue.
And as we’re witnessing, once schools and school leaders and local voices speak out, it’s an issue so potent enough to: 1) halt a gerrymandered legislature; 2) give GOP Senators a rare backbone; and 3) force Trump himself to cave.
And that almost never happens right now.
The Beshear Model
Want a recent example of what a true public education fighter looks and sounds like, and how such advocacy succeeds?
I give you Andy Beshear, Governor of Kentucky.
Not only did he go all in on public education in Kentucky.
Not only does he make clear that he “has no higher priority than fighting for our students, educators and public schools.”
But he has laid down a very simple principle that sounds just like the people I talked to in Robertson County: “Public dollars are for public schools. Period.”
And on the basis of this bright-line rule, he vetoed a private school voucher bill in his state. He didn’t compromise or pass some watered down version.
He said “public dollars are for public schools,” and pushed for far greater funding for public education.
Watch his veto message here—and ask yourself, when’s the last time you heard Democrats in DC sound like this?
When Beshear faced an opponent in the 2023 election (a previous active champion for private school vouchers in Kentucky, including in his role as Attorney General), Beshear didn’t just hold firm to his stance. He went on offense, relentlessly pounding the message in that video above.
And what happened?
As the people of Kentucky watched the campaign play out, they sided with Beshear. And the GOP candidate’s pro-private school voucher position became toxic.
It got so bad, at one of their debates, “Beshear attacked Cameron for not answering questions about whether he supports school vouchers and other so-called “school choice” measures.
“Look in the camera and answer the question,” Beshear said. “I oppose vouchers 100%. They steal money from our public schools and send them to our private schools.”
Here’s how a similar exchange played out in another debate, where Cameron clearly tried to duck the voucher issue altogether (again, he had previously been a big champion of them):
“Beshear has maintained that he is vehemently opposed to “any voucher program,” whereas Cameron would use them to funnel millions of dollars into private schools….
“Daniel Cameron’s approach to education includes vouchers,” Beshear said, as Cameron interjected. Such support would take “tens, if not hundreds, of million dollars away from public education and send it to fancy private schools. Now, he’ll try to tell you it’s not in his enumerated plan. But out on the campaign trail, he said this race is about vouchers and you can just ask him directly.”
“Well, let’s just ask him directly: Do you support vouchers, General Cameron?” [the moderator] asked.
[Cameron worked hard to avoid answering the question].
Cameron said he’s always supported “catching up our kids.”
“Is one of those options school vouchers and scholarship tax credits?” [the moderator] interjected.
“We’ve seen Andy Beshear’s education plan, and it’s a plan that shut down our schools for for nearly two years,” Cameron said [trying to change the subject to COVID].
“But you would be for school vouchers?” [the moderator] asked again.
“No, I will support, primarily, our public school system,” Cameron said. “Look, we need to make sure that we expand opportunity and choice...”
[So Cameron’s pathetic attempt to blame COVID on Beshear didn’t work, he rushed to embrace public schools, and he did all he could to avoid admitting he supported vouchers.]
“That’s three times you’ve asked the question,” Beshear said.
[And Beshear still pounded away].
In another debate, Cameron did the same: asked to state his position on vouchers, he rushed to point out that “he is [] focused on public education, citing family members who work or worked in public schools.”
I’ve been around a lot of debates and debate prep….this is an absolute annihilation on an issue that almost every Republican in America is equally vulnerable on.
And it happened because Beshear went on offense on it—as a Governor, and as a candidate.
Winning
Beshear won that election by 5 points, when he’d won his first race by only .37 points.
Beshear continued his strong messaging for public education and against private school vouchers in 2024, appearing in ads opposing the voucher measure. And speaking about it like this:
And again, sounding just like the people I met in Robertson County.
So…please…learn the lesson.
Don’t let the far right’s demonization of public education fool you.
People support their local public schools.
Whether it’s an attack from Washington, an attack from your statehouse, some new privatization scheme, a billionaire-backed referendum or a candidate who is all-in on attacking public schools—oppose them fiercely and call them out bluntly.
Go on offense for public schools, and against efforts to attack public schools.
Better yet, build a broad, multi-partisan coalition across all divides in doing this. And go on offense together.
More than on just about any issue these days, you can fight back.
Anywhere.
And win.
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[1] Url:
https://davidpepper.substack.com/p/lesson-public-schools-are-a-winning?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1171551&post_id=169375264&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=hc5o&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
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