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November 7, 2007
Utah voters send vouchers down in flamesGeorge Will must be having a bad day. Perhaps the "reddest" state in the country didn't just demurely say "no thanks" to private school vouchers in yesterday's public referendum. It shouted it loud enough for the rest of the nation to hear. Try 62% against and 38% for the nation's first universal school voucher plan, created by a single vote in the Utah House earlier this year after buckets of out-of-state pro-voucher money helped sway statehouse elections. Try vouchers rejected in every single Utah county.
We've seen this movie before. California. Michigan. Washington. Colorado. Put vouchers before the people and the people decisively reject the idea. Happened in the 70s. The 80s. The 90s. And now into the 21st Century. "Liberal" states. "Conservative" states.
You'll hear plenty of talk today and in the near term about the challenges of convincing voters to say "yes" on just about any referendum issue. In fairness, there is a level of truth to that. But there's also something to be said about the margins of defeat when it comes to vouchers. These are not squeaker elections. Utah: 62% against. Michigan: 69% against. California: 71% against. Voters have rejected targeted voucher plans and universal voucher plans. They have rejected the notion of creating a program, and now they have repealed a program already created by lawmakers.
As NSBA's Executive Director Anne L. Bryant put it, "No matter the state, no matter the specifics of the plan, school vouchers remain an unpopular and unproven policy."
Coverage from the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret Morning News.
Utah's politicians sound as though they got the message (from Deseret Morning News):
"This sends a strong message to us as legislators to represent the constituents that elect us — we're not here for political party, we're not here for the issue — we're there to represent the voice of the people and if we don't do that, then we don't deserve to be re-elected," said Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, who voted against vouchers during the legislative session.Utah House Speaker Greg Curtis said that with the voucher law defeat, "we'll take a time out" in the 2008 Legislature: no voucher bills.
"I've talked with Gov. (Jon) Huntsman (Jr.) and other leaders," Curtis, R-Sandy, said Tuesday night. "We are not going to do anything on vouchers next session."
Not even a scaled-down voucher bill, such as one that would give private school tuition payments to Utah's poor or middle-income?
"No. There are a lot of other things we need to focus on" in the Legislature come January's general session, the speaker said. "And we will do those things."
On the other hand, how 'bout this quote from the man who essentially spearheaded (or at least funded) the pro-voucher campaign, businessman Patrick Byrne: "I'm ashamed of Utah that this could even be a close vote. This is parents looking at their kids getting a third-rate education and other kids getting basically a death sentence and saying, 'That's OK by me."'
Since when is 62-38 close? And what an odd message from a movement that claims it trusts parents over "the establishment" and that parents can provide all the accountability needed for how taxpayers' money is spent.
Here's hoping that politicians across the land take a serious look at what transpired in Utah the last several months and realize that supporting public schools and ensuring public accountability for education tax dollars is exactly where the public wants them to be.
Plenty of background on the Utah campaign (and links to more) here.
Posted November 7, 2007 2:46 PM | Privatization & Choice
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Posted by: Brian Aust on November 8, 2007 5:52 PM
I cracked a little smile as the voucher advocates bemoaned the public school advocates for spending money to defeat the referendum.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, 57% were against the idea from the beginning. Another five percent changed their mind after the public awareness campaign.
And... in defeat, Byrne called Utah voters stupid and said parents didn't care about their kids (also from the Salt Lake Tribune).
From a state that is probably more red than Utah, this South Dakotan is smiling big at the support for public schools in Utah.
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