Deseret News

Voters, approve vouchers in November

September 16, 2007

URL: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/content/mobile/0,5223,695209774,00.html

By Frank Pignanelli & LaVarr Webb


Webb: Last I heard, Frank was in Pompeii, Italy, trying to research his ancestry among the ruins for some clue as to why he's so obnoxious. (He's having such a great time he may never return.) So that leaves me the opportunity to tackle a hot issue with none of Frank's meddling.

The education voucher question that will be on the election ballot statewide in November is one of the most important public policy questions voters have faced in many years.

At stake here is education quality, teacher salaries, class sizes, expenditures per pupil — and overall taxation levels. This is nothing short of a billion-dollar issue, and it's up to voters to decide.

I am an enormous supporter of Utah's public schools. My children attended public schools, as will my grandchildren. The vast majority of Utah children will always attend public schools. Our public officials should always focus on improving public schools. Private schools, facing competition and market forces, will take care of themselves.

Because I'm a public school advocate, I'm also an enormous voucher supporter. I am absolutely convinced that by every measure Utah's public schools, students, parents, teachers and taxpayers will be much better off if vouchers are approved by voters in November.

Here's why: Utah schools desperately need more funding. We need more money for teacher salaries, for class size reduction, for computers and supplies. We need to spend more money per pupil. Everyone knows that we have more children to educate because of our large families. With my six children (now all graduated from public schools), I'm partly to blame.

But another big reason we're short of public school money is we have relatively few children attending private schools. Utah has about 3 percent of school-age children in private schools compared to 10 to 12 percent in most states. The difference amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars.

If we can encourage another 7 to 10 percent of students to attend private schools, while leaving most of the money we would have spent on them in the public school system, that's an enormous financial windfall for public schools.

State Sen. Howard Stephenson likes to say that a voucher really is just a way to get families to raise their hands and volunteer to educate their children for $2,000 (the estimated average voucher amount) instead of $7,500 (the amount we spend per pupil from all revenue sources), leaving $5,500 remaining to educate other children in the public education system. Not a bad deal.

And the money adds up. The legislative fiscal analyst estimates that the voucher program could pay out $429 million over 13 years if all qualified voucher students use the program. But it would mean we would not have to spend $1.8 billion for those students in the public school system, a direct net savings of $1.37 billion. That is money that can go to improve salaries, reduce class sizes and improve public education.

Even if we had 10 or 12 percent of students attending private schools, public school enrollment would not be cut back. This would all happen over several years, so we're simply talking about slowing the growth in public school enrollment, reducing the number of new students we have to pay for. Our public schools will still be crowded. The vast majority of Utahns will always attend public schools. But with 10-12 percent of students in private schools, significantly more money will be left in the public school system.

A good voucher program clearly helps public schools. Also worthwhile would be the reality of a little competition out there. Every institution improves and becomes sharper, more attuned to customers and consumers, with competition.

Given Utah's large families, rapid population growth and already-high tax rates, we must do everything we can to maximize revenue for public schools.

I'm the Utah education establishment's biggest supporter. I think public school teachers and administrators, for the most part, do a terrific job given the system they're in.

Sadly, however, those education establishment folks that I revere don't see this issue the way I do. They're hurting themselves. For the sake, essentially, of ideological purity (the near-religious doctrine that public money can't go to private schools), they are passing up the opportunity to have more money per pupil in the public school system. Ideological purity matters more than facts and common sense. Vouchers are the enemy and nothing will change their minds.

But here's the reality: If you want smaller class sizes, support vouchers. If you want more money per pupil, support vouchers. If you want higher salaries for teachers, support vouchers.

Interestingly, Utah's business community is starting to understand the math. I'm seeing more and more business leaders and associations come out in favor of vouchers as the vote gets closer.

Republican LaVarr Webb was policy deputy to Gov. Mike Leavitt and Deseret News managing editor. He now is a political consultant and lobbyist. E-mail: lwebb@exoro.com.