Myths & Facts

MYTH: Vouchers will drain money from public schools.

FACT #1

The voucher program is funded through general fund monies and not from public education funds. When a parent chooses to use a voucher it does not affect public school funding in any way.  In addition the legislative fiscal analyst estimated the average voucher amount will be a approximately $2,000 vs *$7,500 that will be spent per student in the public schools next year.  If parents are willing to volunteer to take $2,000 instead of $7,500 to educate their child that creates a big win for tax payers and Utah’s public schools. 

*Per pupil amount includes capital and interest

payment. Data from the Utah Taxpayers Association.

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MYTH: Private school tuition is far too expensive for a middle class family to afford, let alone a low-income family.

FACT #2

According to the USU survey of private schools, the average K-8 tuition is about $3,800.  A $3,000 voucher will go a long way in covering tuition costs for qualified low income families, giving them access to the school of their choice independent of geographical and monetary barriers.

Some low income families are - and have been - receiving scholarships from Children First Utah (CFU) prove that low-income families are willing to sacrifice to give their children a quality education. As of January 1, 2007 the average family income of a CFU family is $24,459.  The average CFU scholarship award is $1,638, and on average, a CFU family pays $2,138 to pay the difference between the scholarship and the tuition.

Demand for scholarships last year resulted in 85% of applicants being denied. Low income families know the only way out of poverty is through quality education and they are willing to make huge sacrifices to give their children the education they deserve.

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MYTH: Using public funds to subsidize private schools is an irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars.

FACT #3

Using public funds to subsidize private entities is not a new idea, even in education.  At the college level the federal government provides Pell Grants to help students pay for college. These grants are based on need, but are not restricted to either public or private universities. The student chooses.

Public tax dollars are also used in the form of food stamps for qualified families and individuals to buy food at privately owned grocery stores. The same is true of Medicare and Medicaid programs. Cardholders - not the government - choose from a variety of private doctors and hospitals.  

The focus should be on providing all Utah children the best education possible based on parental choice.

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MYTH: If only one or two students leave a class it will decrease the school’s budget while leaving fixed costs such as building overhead and teacher salaries. Public schools won’t realize savings because of fixed costs.

FACT #4

Any accountant will tell you, there is no such thing as “fixed” costs. With 150,000 new students entering Utah classrooms in the next decade, there will be more demand for our existing public schools, teachers and administrators than our current capacity can possibly handle. By diverting some of this growth into Utah’s underutilized private schools, vouchers can save taxpayers millions of dollars in bond money and debt service that would otherwise build new public schools.

Fluctuating and or declining enrollment is nothing new for school districts.  For instance, in the past decade there’s been a population shift in the Salt Lake Valley from east to west. Salt Lake School District, Granite District, and Jordan District have all had to consolidate some east side schools and build new schools on the west side. School districts also move school boundaries around on a regular basis to even out enrollment across the schools.

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MYTH: Vouchers are the first step in an effort to destroy public education, and the groups pushing vouchers have ulterior motives.

FACT #5

Public schools are always going to educate a large majority of students. The groups supporting vouchers do so because a healthy dose of competition will improve all schools. According to research from Harvard University and the Manhattan Institute, public schools thrive when school choice programs are instituted. In Milwaukee,WI for example, enrollment in public school has increased, as well as public students’ performance, during the 17 years it has had vouchers.  As for allegations of a master plan to destroy public education, you can decide whether that conspiracy theory should occupy more than a second of your thoughts.

Those who support school choice believe education is the most important gift we can give the rising generation and that parents empowered with real choice will find the best school for their child.  Our donors are passionate about giving every child the best education possible and willingly donate to a cause they believe will do that.

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MYTH: Private schools receiving voucher dollars should be regulated by a government agency in the same way that public schools are regulated. They need to be held accountable.

FACT #6

The current public system requires government imposed accountability measures because it lacks the natural accountability created by consumer choice. True educational choice empowers parents, who are making personal, financial, and other sacrifices for their children to attend private schools, this model imposes much greater accountability than any government bureaucracy. Rather than regulating private schools, we should look to create accountability through choice, and then decrease regulation on public schools. 

The Parental Choice Voucher law requires private schools to disclose to parents all relevant information about their children’s education. Private schools must test the student using a nationally norm-referenced test, disclose these test results to the parents of the child, disclose the relevant qualifications of the teacher, and disclose their accreditation status. These requirements ensure that parents receive additional information to make good evaluations of their child’s schooling.

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MYTH: Vouchers are just another government subsidy for the poor.

FACT #7

During the 2007-2008 school year tax payers will spend approximately $7,500 per student to educate them in grades K-8. According to the Legislative Fiscal Analyst the average school voucher will be slightly less than $2,000. Since the voucher amount is less than the cost of educating children in traditional public schools, a voucher is actually a much smaller subsidy than sending children to public schools.

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MYTH: Vouchers will create social and economic segregation.

FACT #8

Because they draw from very tight geographic boundaries, traditional public schools are among the most segregated institutions in our society. Compare, for example, east bench public schools with public schools in Rose Park. By contrast, the State Office of Education reports that Utah private schools have more non-whites as a percentage of enrollment than Utah public schools.

This trend also plays out on a national level. 50% of 12th grade students in public schools are in classes that have more than 90%, or fewer than 10% minority students. Only 41% of private school students are similarly situated, and 37% are in classes whose racial composition is within 10 % of the national average. Less than 18% of public school students are in classes that are similarly mixed.

Research also shows that private school students score higher on assessments of political tolerance; they are more understanding and accepting of differences and have a greater appreciation for civics.

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MYTH: There aren’t enough seats in private schools to meet the demand that vouchers would create.

FACT #9

Two Utah research groups, Gov. Leavitt’s Employers’ Education Coalition, and the USU researchers, have examined this question. Both have indicated that private schools are only about 2/3 full, and that private schools will expand to meet demand.  A team of researchers from Teachers College at Columbia University has examined this question from the historical perspective in Milwaukee, WI’s school choice program. Although their organization is predisposed to oppose school choice, they found that the supply of private schools expanded to meet the demand that emerged.

Only one year after Utah implemented the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship (a program that provides a scholarship for k-12 students with disabilities to pay for private school tuition), two after-school tutoring programs in Utah created full-day programs with the express purpose to serve Carson Smith students.  This further illustrates that when the demand for private schools increases with vouchers, so will the supply.