Huntsman Urges Lawmakers/Education Officials to Get Past Voucher Differences

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) When Governor Jon Huntsman Junior steps into the polling booth on November 6th, he will cast a vote in support of vouchers. And now that Utah's highest court has made it clear the referendum will determine the success or failure of school choice in Utah, Huntsman says state lawmakers and education officials should move on to more important matters.

He made the plea at a joint meeting of state legislators, the Utah State Office of Education and State School Board this morning. "Vouchers are important and we've had that debate," said Huntsman. "Now we need to focus on teachers and kids." Huntsman hoped there would be no "residual impact" from the voucher debate on how state education officials and lawmakers treat each other.

Rancorous debate and power struggles have characterized relations between pro-voucher lawmakers and opponents on the state school board in recent months. Those individuals have said they will play an active role in the pro and anti-voucher campaigns leading up to the referendum on November 6th.

1. Pat Rusk said:

"Residual impact"? The voucher rancor has clouded every single legislative session for nearly a decade. The past few months have simply brought the issue before the public. Educators working to secure funding and respect for public schools and public school employees have met with the "vouchers or else" mentality for years. Residual impact? You bet there will be residual impact. Many legislators hold not only citizens, but each other hostage with their power. But fortunately the public will now see what many of us have dealt with for years. THEY can end not only the voucher nonsense but also reign of those legislators whose superiority over the rest of us must never be questioned.

2. Representative Sylvia Andersen, District 48 said:

As a new Legislator, I am surprised and saddened at the "them against us" attitude the pervades the discussion about education. I came to the Hill hoping to be in the Legislature what my role in life has been, that of a peacemaker and facilitator. I met with a couple of leaders in the UEA even before being elected, I suggested a meeting in which a representative of each group associated with educating our young people would gather around a table, putting the needs of our children in the center of the table, and offer constructive suggestions of how address those needs. I suggested that we should have a member of the Board of Education, a member of each of the different organizations that educate our youth; Home Schoolers, Private Schools, Charter Schools, Public Schools; the PTA and Parents for Choice represented at that meeting. The Response to my suggestion was "I won't meet with Parents for Choice!"

How can we ever improve our educational system with this obvious need to control all that is related to education so prevelant in the attitudes of those who are supposedly serving our youth. I have been so immersed in an atmosphere of "protect your organization's territory at all costs" that it is difficult to see where these organizations prioritize the needs of our children. Is it before or after protecting thier own organization and the power they weild? Can it be that it is more important to maintain the status quo of control over funds, power, and our children than addressing all possible options for improvement? Can any one organization possibly think that "they" know what is right for every child and every family? Can any group be so insecure regarding their viability that they refuse to consider ANY other options that would include change? Can we as citizens feel that it is our right and need to control the opportunities for each tax-paying family to determine what will serve the educational needs of their child(ren)best?

I believe that if we worked TOGETHER to address the serious issues surrounding education, without concern for "protecting our territory" we could find the answers, implement the change, and secure a path of success for every child in Utah.

We, as Legislators TOGETHER, passed the largest increase in funding for education in the history of our state. As a percentage of increase, it was the largest in the US. If funding is the measure of our committment to education, then how can it be doubted?

I know that every Legislator with whom I work is dedicated to doing what is best for their district and the State as a whole. I have not found a single Representative who displays and air of superiority, each has sacrificed a great deal to serve their fellow citizens.

3. Kim Horiuchi said:

Sylvia,

I, too, am saddened by the “them against us” attitude. But unfortunately, I believe, statements like yours perpetuate the problem. You claim to want to be a “peacemaker” and “facilitator.” But in the next paragraph, you criticize public education leaders for their “obvious need to control all that is related to education.”

Instead of truly trying to understand why education leaders oppose vouchers, you call them insecure and lambaste them for the false perception that all they want to do is “protect their territory.” I, for one, oppose vouchers for many reasons and none stems from a “need to control.”

Instead, this is why I will be voting against vouchers this November:

1. Ulterior motives: Vouchers are a stepping-stone on a path to eliminate all of our public schools. This is not a conspiracy theory. Statements by idealogues such as the late Milton Friedman outline a clear plan to destroy public education. 2. Lacking funds for public education: Utah still ranks dead last in the nation in the amount it spends on public education. Class sizes are the highest in the nation and teachers' salaries are not competitive with neighboring states even as we face severe teacher shortages. Vouchers are expected to cost taxpayers more than $450 million over the next 13 years.3. Citizens value public education: Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike recognize the importance our public schools play in creating a stable and capable society. At least 96 percent of all students attend public schools in Utah (the highest rate in the nation).4. Vouchers undermine public schools: Vouchers take critical dollars from the public schools. Pro-voucher legislators counter this argument by pointing to the mitigation money they provided, but in the next breath they have stated that the mitigation money was nothing but a political compromise and that if it was up to them, no mitigation funds would have been given at all.5. Constitutional issues: The Congressional Enabling Act of 1894 and the Utah Constitution of 1896 prohibit the Legislature funding parochial schools. 6. Admissions criteria: Unlike public schools, which accept every child, private schools choose their own populations by setting their own admissions criteria.7. Real choices for parents: Utah public schools already offer many educational choices, including charter schools, magnet schools, open enrollment within districts and transfers to neighboring districts.8. Vouchers have not raised academic achievement: There is no evidence that students perform better in private schools than in public schools.9. The public rejects vouchers: Voters have rejected every voucher proposal put before them in the last 30 years. 10. Subsidizing of private ventures: Private scholarships now exist for private schools. It makes sense for the private sector to continue to fund a private purpose instead of relying on public tax dollars.

Also, not that I have ever been asked, but perhaps the primary reason that I personally would never sit down at a table with Parents for Choice is the biting rhetoric they harbor. Spokespeople from this group – on several occasions – have called hard-working, well-meaning Utah educators “educrats,” "union thugs," "Communists" and other names instead of talking about the real issues.

If legislators are serious about sacrificing to serve their fellow citizens, might I suggest an end to such rhetoric and an attempt to find mutual understanding. If that is not possible, I think it best at this point for pro-voucher and anti-voucher camps to agree to disagree and move ahead as we look toward November's ballot.

4. Taylor said:

If the motivation is really there to bring consensus may I suggest you work toward defusing situations instead of escalating them!

5. Dixie Allen said:

After serving as a teacher, principal and director in the public education arena for 26+ years and on the State Board for my fifth year, I can honestly say that the issue is not vouchers, the issue is demonstrating value for educators at each and every level of the educational community.

I think it is obvious by State Statue and the State Constitution that our founding father’s wanted a separation of power and a quality public education program. In those statues it defines that the power of the legislature to support and fund the public education system and that the State Board to have general control and supervision. Somehow that process has become clouded.

The legislature has more and more insisted on defining programs, testing procedures, graduation requirements, teacher certification, choices for educational offerings’ and the school calendar. (In the last legislative session the State Educational System had approximately 42 new bills to address before the upcoming school year.)

The perceived underpinnings of the multitude of bills each year that are given to the public education system is the belief that the educators of the state system and anyone involved in the public education system are not worth what they are being paid and cannot be trusted with adequate funding or determining the programming necessary to provide a quality program for the children of the state. This continued battering takes place while the state of Utah remains the lowest funded education system in the nation and among the highest in graduation rates and test scores.

It seems to me that there is a simple fix to the frustration of the Legislature and the educators, including State and Local Boards of Education. The answer to all of our concerns is adequate funding of the public education programs, trusting those involved in the education field to determine programs and procedures, communicating with each other to determine clear expectations for the educational system, and continue to provide the money and support needed to provide for the capacity in the system to improve the educational programs for All students of our state.

The answers to these expectations may be vouchers, tuition tax credits, magnet schools, charter schools or good neighborhood schools. However, the answer may be different for each district of the state. May we please ask for the leaders of this state to invest and demonstrate their support, value and trust of the educational system of this state to improve on the excellence we already have and develop a system that can and should be the greatest in the nation and perhaps the world?