We are asking everyone to vote yes on Amendment 2. The amendment allows the governor and the assembly to talk about ways in which they can assist the Catholic schools and public schools. The amendment does not designate any particular way of doing that and does not require them to do that. It does allow them to pass policies that give support, if they wish.
    
As I stated a few weeks ago, the Diocese of Covington has approximately 10,000 students in its Catholic schools. At $15,000 per student that is being spent on each student by the State of Kentucky, we are saving Kentucky 15 million dollars per year. If we were to add all of the students in the Diocese of Lexington, the Diocese of Owensboro, and the Archdiocese of Louisville, that number jumps dramatically. If we were to close the Catholic schools, the State of Kentucky would have to absorb them, for they are citizens of Kentucky.
    
We do not want funding to come out of the public schools. Strong public schools are absolutely necessary for the wellbeing of our state and our communities, and we all benefit from those. But we do need and hope that there will be money to help our schools and our families.
    
Vote Yes on 2.