Voucher Debate Focus: Taxes

None by Eric Ray

(KCPW News) Today's voucher debate on KCPW's Midday Metro focused on whether taxes will rise when the number of students in the state's public schools increases.

Royce Van Tassel of the Utah Taxpayers Association says without vouchers, there will be inevitable tax increases to pay for the incoming wave of students to public schools. He says those increases can be somewhat avoided through a voucher system because vouchers will allow more money to be spent on each student.

Voucher opponent Debbie White, President of the American Federation of Teachers of Utah, disagrees with Van Tassle. She says that removing students from public schools will mean a reduction in funding from both the federal and state governments. The state provides per pupil spending and White says the federal government won't fund students who aren't attending public schools. In addition, she says the parents of the incoming children will provide the tax base for those students.

A complete version of today's Midday Metro voucher debate is available for download here.

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