Tag Archives: Utah

There is no doubt in Brian Allen’s mind: A smaller school district would be a better school district: more responsive to community needs; swifter action on parents’ input; an eagerness to try something new, to deliver a better product to kids.

There is no doubt in Betty Shaw’s mind: Jordan School District is a great school district right now: high graduation rates; top-notch programs; responsive to community and parent needs; an overall great product now jeopardized.

Who’s right?

Never before have voters gone to the polls to split a Utah school district. Advocates present research indicating a smaller school district will be better for kids and community involvement. But a University of Utah professor hired by east-side Granite District cities to review the research says the jury’s still out on whether smaller is better.

Tuesday, voters in West Jordan, Sandy, Draper, Midvale, Alta and Cottonwood Heights will decide whether to split the state’s largest school district east-west along the Jordan River and create a separate West Jordan city school district. For many, the decision will come down to philosophy and finance.

The new east district would have about 33,500 students — a far cry from the some 80,000 in Jordan District now — and become Utah’s fifth-largest. A West Jordan District would have about 21,000 students.

Voucher proponents would like you to think the bill is designed to give students from economically disadvantaged homes a chance at a better education. If Utah’s voucher bill were really intended to help poor children get a better education, the cap would have been $8,000 for low-income families and nothing for families with income over $100,000. As it is, vouchers start at $3,000 and dwindle to $500 per student for families with an annual income of $200,000.

It’s possible that the bill’s sponsors really think you can get a good education for $3,000 a year. No one’s really tried the ultimate stack ’em-deep and teach ’em-cheap method for the bargain basement price of $3,000. Some private schools (mostly religious) claim to be in that ball park, but they undoubtedly make up some of the difference with religious donations.

The real problem with the voucher bill is the way it spends taxpayer money without any accountability requirements. There are no performance audit requirements for the private schools, so let the buyer beware and damn the tax payer. There are no financial reporting requirements. The unseen hand of the marketplace will insure that the worst schools will fail; but not until they’ve taken our money.

Private schools do not have to meet the state core curriculum requirements. So throw out all those history and math textbooks and bring on the “Teachings of Rulon Allred” and start building the curriculum for Polygamy 101 through Blood Atonement 689. You think I’m kidding? Only a little. These schools do not have to meet school accreditation requirements. Say hello to school libraries that could make the federal prison approved reading list look like the Library of Alexandria. The private schools do not have to adhere to teacher training or licensing requirements. If you’ve got a license to drive you’ve got a license to teach.

Public education is burdened with a blizzard of performance and financial requirements at both the state and federal levels. Voucher funds, on the other hand would have no such burdens. “Not to worry,” they say, because the magic of the marketplace will take care of that. Schools that don’t measure up-to what?-will fail. But how many millions of dollars and how many student years of schooling will be wasted?

Proponents of vouchers claim that public schools will actually end up with additional funds because only a portion of the funds currently allocated to each student would go with the student to a private school. The knife twist in that statement is “currently.” The legislature could change that next year.

What voucher proponents really want is social capitalism, a system where every social policy is calculated to maximize the return on investment. They’re already doing it with the environment, where the benefits of every regulation (lives saved or improved) are weighed (at cents on the dollar) against the costs of compliance to polluting corporations. And you know who’s been coming out on the short end of that stick. By that criteria, it is wisest to invest in the front runners. In the case of the social rat race that just happens to be the children of the already well-to-do.

According to the Taxpayers Association report, Utah’s public school enrollment will have grown by more than 150,000 students by 2016. The past decade saw growth of about 50,000 students.

The outcry this year over increasing property taxes will pale in comparison to the outcry that will erupt when taxes double to fund an influx of students into public schools over the next 15 years, said association vice president Royce Van Tassell.

Then stop having children for crying out loud!

The association’s sister organization, the Utah Taxpayers Foundation, commissioned the study by Aspire Consulting this year to analyze and project student enrollment through 2022.

It may not be a surprise to see the Taxpayers Association come out in favor of vouchers. The association’s president is Utah Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, who voted for the law and co-chairs the Legislature’s Joint Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee.

Van Tassell is the former spokesman for Parents for Choice in Education, a pro-voucher group.

Of course there are private interests at stake here……
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“Taxpayers have a choice: vouchers or massive tax increases,” Van Tassell said in a news release. “There are just no other ways to pay for the tidal wave of children that are already entering Utah’s public schools.” –>

But voucher critics say the report is wrong. “Their base assumption is wrong,” said Lisa Johnson, spokeswoman for Utahns for Public Schools. “Utah does not spend $7,500 for every student.”

She said some students cost more, some less, but according to state and federal sources, the 2006 per-pupil expenditure in Utah was $5,397.

“The Utah Taxpayers Association is a part of the pro-voucher campaign,” Johnson said. “If voters want unbiased information, they should refer to the voter’s guide that plainly states vouchers will cost Utah hundreds of millions of dollars — claiming that vouchers will ease the enrollment burden is ludicrous.”

According to figures from the legislative fiscal analyst, districts could save anywhere from $95 million to $265 million over 13 years with the voucher program — but it would cost the state around $429 million.

Well there ya go.  The rest of the picture.

Voucher opponents agree with the report’s enrollment projections.

But the legislative fiscal analyst estimates that only 2 percent of students would switch from public schools to voucher schools. That would translate to around 12,000 students.

Critics also said the Taxpayers Association report is wrong in claiming that public schools will receive funds for voucher students for the foreseeable future.

“In five years, those funds disappear and will cut into public school funds just as more and more students are entering public schools,” Johnson said. “Voters should read the fine print — the five-year cap on assistance for public schools included in the referendum may lead to increased taxes.”

This is but one piece of the larger picture in this country to privatize EVERYTHING.