Public School Teachers on Vouchers

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) Utah's largest union for public school teachers is promising a united front against vouchers on next week's referendum. At a rally during the annual UEA convention yesterday, public school employees and the state superintendents' association added their opposition, too.

UEA president Kim Campbell called vouchers a "grand corporate experiment."

"I'm sorry. Utah's children are not for sale," said Campbell, forcefully.

More than a hundred teachers, parents and school employees gathered at the anti-voucher rally. Campbell says the UEA has 18-thousand members - most of whom plan to vote "no" on Referendum One. But not all public school teachers are members of the UEA and oppose vouchers:

"I've been a teacher for two years and obviously we can always make public education better," says Britney Mendell, 1st grade teacher at Draper Elementary School. "But I feel like vouchers can help us with that even more. Because it's not taking public education money away. It's giving us money we wouldn't otherwise have, which will be great for the kids that stay in public school."

Public school teachers figure prominently into the campaigns of both pro and anti-voucher campaigns. On Tuesday, voters statewide will either vote "yes" on Referendum One to keep vouchers on the books, or "no" to repeal the law.

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