Better Public/Fiscal Policy

It's good for the Taxpayer and Public Schools

How the Program Benefits Public Schools

First, it's important to understand that the funding for the Parental Choice Voucher Program comes from the General Fund NOT local property taxes or the Uniform School Fund.  In no way does it take money from public schools. 

The $9.2 million set aside for the Parental Choice Voucher Program will not affect the $3.5 BILLION that the Utah Legislature appropriated for public education in the 07-08 school year.

As explained above, the Parental Choice Voucher Program will also help reduce class sizes and increase per student spending in the public schools.  As students who otherwise would have stayed in their public school leave the public system because of the voucher, the total number of students in the public system will decrease, yet the total funding to the public schools will remain the same.  This will result in more funding per student in our public schools.

Not only will the Parental Choice Voucher Program provide financial benefits to public schools, evidence shows that increased parental choice also increases student performance in public schools.

Click here to learn more about how Parental Choice benefits public schools.

How the Program Benefits Taxpayers

Another benefit of the Parental Choice Voucher Program is that it allows the state to educate a child at a lower cost to the taxpayer. The Legislative Fiscal Analyst predicted that the average voucher would be under $2,000 in the 07-08 school year.  At the same time, Utah will spend over $7,500 per public school student in the 07-08 school year.

The fiscal impact of the Parental Choice Voucher Program will also create an overall savings to the state.  This fact is illustrated by a 2007 study conducted by Dr. Susan Aud and 2004 study by Utah State University.

(Dr. Aud teaches Quantitative Methods in Political Science at John Hopkins University and Statistical Methods in Policy Analysis at George Mason University)

Click here to learn more about how Parental Choice benefits taxpayers.