'Opening' schools could work wonders

But the part that really caught my eye had to do with public education. Students in New Zealand were performing about 15 percent behind their peers worldwide. So, after examining the public system and finding it bloated and top-heavy, the government eliminated all boards of education, which would be like Utah eliminating every school district. Every school was to be governed by its own board of trustees, elected by the parents. Each school was given a lump sum based on its enrollment, with absolutely no strings attached.

That's not all. The school system was opened up completely. Anyone could send their child to any school they wished. Private schools that wanted to join this system of funding were allowed, as well.

As McTigue said, "It is absolutely obnoxious to me that anybody would tell parents that they must send their children to a bad school."

Despite all the dire warnings — similar to the ones the public school monopoly in Utah throws up each time choice is mentioned — the public school system in New Zealand today enrolls a higher percentage of the population than it did before the switch, and the nation's students now perform at levels about 15 percent above their peers internationally.

Why did this happen? "Because all of a sudden teachers realized that if they lost their students, they would lose their funding; and if they lost their funding, they would lose their jobs," McTigue said.

When it came to taxes, New Zealand eliminated absolutely everything except income and consumption taxes, and it restructured these to bring in about the same amount of money as did the old taxes. Instead, however, they brought in much more. The rate of compliance went up and the economy prospered.

Utahns seem stuck in the rut of looking at their problems the same way, with the same assumptions. As a result, voters in Bountiful will decide this Tuesday whether to build a new recreation center with taxes. Why? Because someone in government said it should be done. Never mind all the private recreation centers out there. Redevelopment agencies everywhere are handing out wads of incentives to private businesses in a rush for elusive sales taxes. No one asks why.

And the school system continues to burst at the seams because the state's leaders won't change how things have always been done.

Unfortunately, most responses I received this week had an underlying thread of pessimism. Nothing will change, they seemed to say. I hope they're wrong.

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Jay Evensen is editor of the Deseret Morning News editorial page. E-mail: even@desnews.com