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St. George Spectrum Confession of a fence sitter who straddled the voucher issue
By Laura Dutton
Until the last few days, I've been sitting on the fence when it came to choosing a side in the voucher fight. I just didn't feel like I knew enough about the issue to make an informed decision. The only information I had heard about vouchers came from people who are against them, and although I was turned off by the negativity in their ads, and noticed the absence of any real information included in them, I hadn't heard anything really positive about the voucher program either. Then several people asked me where I stood on the issue. After telling them that I wasn't sure, I decided to find out for myself. Hours of study and research listening to arguments, reading, watching videos, talking to other people, and thinking helped me decide to come down from the fence. I'll definitely be voting for Referendum 1 on Nov. 6. Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against the public school system. I have two children currently attending, and I fully intend to keep them enrolled in their wonderful public school. (Go Falcons.) But I honestly feel that Referendum 1 would be good for parents, students and teachers, including those who remain with the public school system. Vouchers are a win-win situation for both sides, and would help solve the two biggest problems in our public schools: low per-student funding and large class sizes. One scare tactic I've heard used to argue against vouchers is the idea that vouchers will raise taxes. However, projections show that Utah will have to find the resources to educate 150,000 more students than we have now in the next 10 years. Taxes would have to go up an astronomical amount just to keep up with our current per-pupil spending - already the lowest in the nation. Vouchers offer an alternative way to pay for educating some of these students, and will actually cost taxpayers less in the long run than if we try to make do without them. As the Provo Daily Herald said Oct. 14, "Referendum 1 is an excellent piece of legislation. Not perfect, perhaps, but fundamentally brilliant in its approach. It points the way to global competitiveness. It gives parents the ability to choose what is best for their children. It costs very little. And it protects the intellectual lives of individual young people who won't be sacrificed in a one-size-fits-all system." I invite all of my fellow fence-sitters to come down off the fence. Look into the facts, and decide for yourself which way to vote. (You DO plan to vote, don't you?) Some Web sites you may find useful are votefor1.orgchoiceineducation.org the Utah Education Association and National Education Association Web sites and utahnsforpublicschools.org I especially recommend taking the time to watch the 20/20 special, "Stupid in America," found on YouTube. I think you'll find, like I did, that making an informed choice for one side or the other gives you peace-of-mind that is hard to find when you're straddling both sides of the fence. Laura Dutton is a resident of Hurricane. She is a member of The Spectrum & Daily News Writers Group. |
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