Provo Daily Herald

In Our View:  Study Voucher Issue Carefully

October 22, 2007

http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/240969/

Gov. Jon Huntsman has gently urged Utahns to find out more about Referendum 1. We think that if they do, they'll vote for the voucher program, as the governor says he will.

Huntsman has long backed the idea. At a conference last month at Sundance, he told local business and civic leaders, "I'm going to vote for vouchers because I think that's an important step in terms of having another piece of equipment in our arsenal that serves kids."

On Wednesday, Huntsman appeared at a Capitol news conference with Republican leaders who support the program. He reaffirmed his support for the plan to share education money with Utah parents whose children would be better served in private school. On average the voucher would amount to less than half of what the state has already allocated for the education of each student.

Huntsman trusts the judgment -- and the basic arithmetic skills -- of voters. He believes, as we do, that when they study the program, they will come to understand that the choice is between innovative funding approaches, like vouchers, and certain tax increases that will be required to sustain Utah schools in the next decade if alternative funding of education cannot be achieved.

"That's all I ask," he said as he urged voters to educate themselves. "We have a very important vote Nov. 6. Come informed and then vote whatever you think is right."

We agree with Huntsman's recommendation and with his approach. Unfortunately, voucher opponents -- including a major national labor union recently joined by Arizona's largest teachers' union -- have fought with fear instead of facts. Television ads, funded with millions from organized labor, have sought to obfuscate more than enlighten.

A key point to keep in mind as you sort through the debate is that it's not really about money. It can't be. Vouchers cap the taxpayer contribution for a particular student at $3,000. Without the voucher, taxpayers would be on the hook for at least $5,000 to educate that same child.

The voucher cap leaves a surplus. Instead of giving all $5,000 away for a private school, the law directs that the difference ($2,000 in this example) must remain with the public schools. It is a windfall for the public school system. Most of Utah's schools are overcrowded, so losing the cost of a student while keeping a significant chunk of tax dollars associated with that student can only be good.

Over 13 years, vouchers will cost a minuscule 4-tenths of 1 percent of state spending on K-12 education. It's a compelling case: more resources per student to public schools; little cost to taxpayers; and greater freedom for parents to address the individual needs of their children. Vouchers increase total education spending in Utah because most parents who use them will have to dip into their own pockets to meet private school tuition.

Strangely, one important issue has hardly been discussed in all in the voucher debate, but it ought to be the centerpiece. It is the tidal wave of 150,000 new students that will hit Utah in the next few years. Vouchers alone will not solve the growth problem, but they will help. The alternative to creative solutions like vouchers is massive tax increases.

Some people say they object to giving state money to private entities like schools. But of course this is done all the time, and for good reasons. Government pays private parties all the time to achieve public purposes -- pell grants for students, Medicare, mental health services, highway construction, support for parents via tax deductions for children. Ever taken out a mortgage on a home? The government subsidizes that when you deduct the mortgage interest on your tax returns. The paperwork is different, the impact is the same. The list goes on.

This one is simple: Who should have greatest power to direct a child's life -- a parent or a public school system? While it may take a village to raise a child, we believe most people support the basic stewardship of mother and father.

Keep these points in mind when you study this issue. We agree with Gov. Huntsman that you will arrive at the right answer. We think you will vote "yes" on Referendum 1.