The Spectrum: Politicians need to represent voters on school vouchers

With public opinion increasingly opposing universal vouchers, I'm having a hard time understanding their continued push in the face of defeat.

I thought that maybe it was because people wanted a chance to choose the morality taught in schools. Morality is a reflection of religious values. From ninth grade forward, students may be excused for one class period per day to study religion.

I thought that it might have to do with eliminating or reducing taxes. However, if the voucher initiative is passed, then Utahns can expect to pay an additional $429 million over the next thirteen years on top of what they are already paying for education.

I looked in the phone book and found only one private school for middle/high schoolers in St. George and with the state-wide average cost of Utah private schools at $8,000, I had a hard time imagining large Utah families jockeying for a chance to spend $5,000 per child to use a voucher.

Next, I considered student performance. Maybe a private school choice will mean higher test scores. Alex Molnar, in 1999, debunked that myth. He found that class size has a stronger correlation to higher test scores than any other factor. In 2005 and again in 2006, Utah schools ranked 3rd in the country in Advanced Placement test results. On the American College Test, for the school year 2007, Utah public schools scored at or above average on their benchmark score - the score necessary to have a 75 percent expectation of receiving a C on a corresponding credit-bearing college course. Additionally, Utah high schools have a graduation rate 10 percent higher than the average for the rest of the country.

Maybe people just don't have confidence in public education. Sorry! Nationwide, public schools have an approval rating (average or above average) of nearly 80 percent (Phi Delta Kappa International).

Interestingly, three news details from the Salt Lake Tribune may shed some light on the matter. First, professional solicitors from out-of-state are being employed to distribute pro-voucher literature. Secondly, an esoteric group of Utah politicians have been meeting with lobbyists from multiple manufacturing and retailing industries at the Utah Board of Realtors office in Salt Lake in an attempt to get their support for the referendum (Aug. 31.) Finally, in a move normally characteristic of those outside of the political process, several Utah lawmakers have broken rank from political objectivity and formed their own ad hoc partisan Political Action Committee to push for vouchers. The Informed Voter Project, most recently with $200,000 in hand, uses voter lists to mail and auto-dial targeted citizens to gather support. (Aug. 31; Oct. 4.)

If this information is true, then it would appear that many of the pro-voucher politicians are largely representing their own agenda, rather than that of their constituents.

Representing voters does not mean organizing and fighting against them!

Vouchers are a costly political gadfly! Vote NO on Referendum 1.

Glenn Mesa is a resident of St. George. He is a member of The Spectrum & Daily News Writers Group.

Thw Spectrum: State voucher system will cause contention over funds

The citizens of Utah will determine in a statewide election Nov. 6, whether or not vouchers will be implemented. This is a landmark decision that deserves thorough consideration. The basic concern of course is that of meeting the education needs of all the children.

After serious consideration of the issues involved and the arguments for and against, it is my opinion, based on the following reasons, that Utah should not adopt a voucher system.

Proper funding
Public tax dollars should not be spent for private school education.

• All parents have the right to enroll their children in free public schools. It is their choice that they do not. The same situation exists with other public services, i.e. libraries.

• In the case of private schools sponsored by religions, administration of funds and accountability matters may raise issues related to the First Amendment.

Needed amount
While vouchers may help some low-income families enroll their children in private schools, it is unlikely that many will be able to do so, even at great sacrifice, based on the amount currently proposed.

Flawed reasoning
Some believe education will be improved from the competition private schools would provide through vouchers. This reasoning is flawed.

• Adjustments that have already been embraced provide adequate approaches through which the education needs of students can be met. These include: (1) "Alternative Schools" established within school districts, (2) "Charter Schools" established outside of the regular school system, (3) Cooperation of public schools with parents in "Home Schooling," and (4) "Private Schools" as currently funded by private sources. In addition, public schools have well-established avenues for public involvement. Local boards of education are local citizens elected by other local citizens. Principals and teachers are open to contact as needed. Schools and their teachers hold individual parent-teacher conferences. Parent-Teacher associations are generally active in promoting improvements. Special commissions have been and can be established on a local or state level to study problem areas and make appropriate recommendations for changing the system.

• Vouchers would likely be divisive, causing contention over funds, students, programs, and claimed achievement.

• Vouchers do not provide real choice since they cannot guarantee to parents that their children will be admitted to the school of their choice.

Insufficiency
Some argue that the public education system and citizens at large should not be concerned over the relatively small amount of funds currently proposed for vouchers, especially since they would come out of the General Fund rather than the Uniform School Fund. This reasoning is flawed.

The ordinary taxpayer is not greatly concerned from which pocket tax dollars for education come. The taxpayer mainly realizes that it is an additional amount of tax money spent for education.

If more tax money can be found for education, why not use it to improve the regular system? For years Utah has been near the bottom among the states in the amount spent per student.

The initial, relatively small amount proposed for vouchers is simply the "camel's nose under the tent." There would be continuing clamor for more funds needed to meet the real costs and for additional schools that may be established.

Lerue W. Winget, Ed.D, is the Associate Superintendent of Public Instruction, Emeritus in St. George.

Wayne Holland Jr. in The Spectrum

S. Utah Democratic conventions

Southwestern Utah is seeing the most rapid population growth of any area in the United States. St. George and surrounding communities have experienced unprecedented growth of 40 percent or more since 2000. This growth promises to continue.

As Washington and Iron counties continue their rapid growth, local and state leaders will face challenges, among them health care, transportation and water shortages. Education is likely to remain at or near the top of the list.

Utah's looming teacher shortage coupled with southwestern Utah's record growth makes this an especially bad time for us to turn our backs on public education. Utah's Democratic leaders recommended a long-term investment in education during the 2007 legislative session, including a 10 percent increase in state spending over each of the next five years.

This increase would have enabled us to move up in the education funding race from 51st in the nation. It would have allowed us to provide salaries to attract desperately needed new teachers instead of driving them away after just a few years of service. Unfortunately, the Legislature rejected this idea, deciding instead on a large one-time increase in education spending and a huge long-term investment in subsidies for private education academies was the way to go.

Private school vouchers, opposed by every Democrat in the Legislature, draw funding from the general fund that provides the revenue needed to build and maintain Utah's infrastructure and support other basic government services. Voucher supporters like St. George's Republican Rep. Stephen Urquhart ignore the impact the establishment of a new program that competes with transportation, health care, etc., for funding will have on their constituents as St. George's rapid growth continues and demands for these services become more urgent.

We cannot afford to ignore the significant demands our education, health care and transportation systems face in the name of conducting risky taxpayer funded experiments intended to promote private education academies. Our continued economic growth depends upon investing our state resources wisely, not adopting programs developed in right-wing think tanks and promoted with the donations of large out of state corporations.

Utah Democrats such as Congressman Jim Matheson have represented southern Utah well. He has been an outspoken critic of Bush administration proposals such as the recently canceled Divine Strake test and has introduced legislation to prevent a repeat of Utah's tragic experience with nuclear testing. Congressman Matheson has also been a strong voice in Congress for a return to fiscal responsibility, a value Utahns share.

Our party's history of standing up for education, fiscal responsibility, and strengthening working families represents the kind of visionary leadership Utah's Dixie needs as it faces the future. This weekend State Sen. Pat Jones will be joining me and other Utah Democrats at the Washington and Iron County conventions. We invite voters to join us and learn more about our party.

Wayne Holland is the chairman of the Utah State Democratic Party

Nick Holland mentioned in The Spectrum

Nick Holland, son of Utah Democratic Chair Wayne Holland Jr., is currently serving as an aide to Congressman Jim Matheson in Washington D.C. Nick was a great inspiration during his father's campaign for state chair and he is young man who is on track towards building a great Democratic future.

Spectrum Editor Todd Seifert went to Washinton D.C. recently and mentions Nick Holland,

"Perhaps even more so than the White House, the U.S. Capitol exudes history. We were lucky enough to have one of Rep. Matheson's aides, Nick Holland, serve as our tour guide. His knowledge of the history of the building certainly added to our tour."

Way to go Nick, keep up the great work!

Observing history
Children provide different perspective on nation's capital