NATHAN JOHNSON - Daily Herald | Posted: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 11:00 pm
Clearing the financial hurdle of sending children to private school may soon become a reality for Utah families.
A bill that would provide state scholarships, or vouchers, to students who want to leave public schools for private ones passed in a House committee in a 9-6 vote on Tuesday. It now moves to the House floor for a vote, although there are constitutional questions and financial concerns about the bill.
House Bill 148 provides for school choice vouchers, which would be paid for out of the state's general fund.
The bill is the reincarnation of similar bills that have been brought before the Legislature for several years. Like this bill's predecessors, HB 148 suffers from financial criticisms.
Financial analysts estimate that the bill would cost the state approximately $10 million in 2008 -- an amount fiscal analysts say will increase drastically as the voucher system becomes increasingly integrated.
Rep. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, sponsored this bill and says that the philosophy behind school choice is that parents are best informed to make decisions for their children. Utah has a big education system, Urquhart said "anytime you have a big system, it's not going to work for everyone. ... There are some students that it doesn't work for."
Individuals who would qualify for the scholarships would receive $500 to $3,000, depending on their income.
Carmen Snow, President of the Utah PTA, said these scholarships will not help the most needy afford private education. She estimates the average cost of private education at $6,000, more than twice the maximum scholarship amount.
Public testimony was intense, with one person being asked to leave the meeting because she was yelling and applauding. Many spoke about their personal experiences with autistic, handicapped or otherwise disabled children who benefited from a private school education subsidized by scholarships.
Opponents said, in addition to the cost, that the bill could hurt the integrity of public education. Snow opposes HB 148 because she says that public education can and should be able to serve all children. Snow spoke directly to Urquhart and told him "If we pass this bill, we are going to see the end of public education, and I don't think that all children will have the right to be educated."
Urquhart said the bill would not financially harm local school districts, but would instead pad their budgets. Under this legislation, a student who leaves a district with a voucher would remain on that district's books as if he or she were still there, minus the average cost of the voucher. This would give schools an estimated $500 per year for students who leave for private schools.
Ken Johnson of the Milwaukee School Board, which is one of the first areas in the nation to implement a voucher system, spoke in support of the bill. Johnson said that Milwaukee schools have shown growth, budgets have increased and market share has increased since the voucher system was put into place.
Johnson said choice improves schools and the education of children dramatically. "There is a different ideology from people who want to be in a place."
Snow, however, says that Milwaukee schools are not at all comparable with Utah schools. Snow cited school funding as a main difference between Milwaukee schools and Utah schools. Utah schools receive a base amount of about $2,500 per student as compared to Milwaukee schools which receive $7,500 per student.
"No wonder they're doing well," Snow said.
There are also some concerns of constitutionality with any bill that provides for school vouchers. Dee Larsen, attorney for the House Education Committee, said it was practically impossible to determine the constitutionality on such a bill. Many of the questions, he said, have not been addressed previously by courts, and as such predicting the outcome of a constitutional challenge is effectively impossible.
HB 148, Education Vouchers, Rep. Stephen Urquhart, R-St. George. This bill creates a program to award scholarships, also called vouchers, to students to attend a private school.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A7.