ALAN CHOATE - Daily Herald | Posted: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 11:00 pm
The Utah Legislature approved a broad education voucher program this year, but lawmakers may have undermined it with cleanup legislation passed today.
The amendments addressed some concerns with the voucher program by requiring background checks on employees of schools receiving vouchers, setting standards for eligible private schools and requiring that an applying parent's income be verified.
Another provision requires a private school to have working capital equal to 80 percent of average quarterly expenditures. That could make it hard for private schools to qualify to receive voucher students.
"I really want to be no, but I'm aye," said Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, in voting for the bill. It passed the Senate 23-5 and gained House approval Friday.
Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, also voted yes, but he said there may not be enough new private school slots for a voucher program unless legislators revisit the issue in a future session.
"I'm concerned about the 80 percent requirement for working capital," Stephenson said. "I can't imagine that a private school could create that kind of capital right off the bat."
He said that requirement might keep new private schools from being formed, which could seriously limit the implementation of vouchers: "This may actually be the 'unvoucher' bill."
Some senators wanted to amend the bill, but any changes would also have to be approved by the House -- and House leaders were worried about passing the bill again.
"Myself and others were arguing with our House colleagues this morning, saying, 'That really needs to be down to like 60 percent, 50 percent,' " Valentine said. "Their concern was political -- if it came back to the floor, they may lose the bill.
"We needed to have some of the other things in the bill. You have to sort of take the best good and take some of the bad in it."
Utah's voucher program takes effect April 30 and will provide -- based on income -- grants of $500 to $3,000 from state coffers that parents can apply toward private school tuition for their children.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.