Voucher proponents say the universal private school voucher program is skewed to help low-income students, but critics say the program will help only middle- to upper-class families and could promote segregation.

The first-of-its-kind universal private school voucher program in Utah would provide Utah families with a $500 to $3,000 voucher, scaled to income, to send their child to private school.

But voucher opponents say private school tuition is expensive and most low-income families would not be able to make up the difference.

"The argument that vouchers are out there to help the poor people is a bit disingenuous because the people who don't need the money are still getting money. The bulk of it will go to those people who can afford to make up the difference in tuition," said Lisa Johnson, spokeswoman for Utahns for Public Schools.

"If it really were to help those disadvantaged kids, they wouldn't be making $500 vouchers available to millionaires," she said.

Outside of tuition for private schools there are other costs, said Sarah Meier, member of UTPS. Families have to provide transportation to school, if it's not in their neighborhood, and purchase uniforms.

Plus, if a child qualifies for free or reduced lunch in a public school, there is no comparable program in a private school. And many private schools require parents to volunteer a set amount of hours each year — something low-income parents could have a hard time doing.

"There's no way (vouchers are) going to make that big of a difference for low-income families. Those who are going to take advantage of them are not the impoverished," Meier said.

Jeanetta Williams president of the Salt Lake City branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said even if the difference is only $1,000, low-income families would be hard-pressed to come up with the money.

She said she believes that kind of exclusion could lead to both racial and socioeconomic segregation down the road.

"I believe we should focus on getting the things they need to the schools that are already in their area, and that's the way you provide real opportunities for them," Johnson said.

But voucher supporters say vouchers will help low-income families the most.

Leah Barker, spokeswoman for Parents for Choice in Education and Children First Utah, an organization that gives private school scholarships to low-income families, said $3,000 will go a long way since the average cost for a K-8 school in Utah is around $4,000.

She said at Children First Utah the average family of four that qualifies for the scholarships makes less than $25,000 a year. And half of last year's 2,000 applicants at Children First Utah were from minority families.

"The (voucher program) is clearly favoring low-income families — those are the people who are really going to want to access vouchers," Barker said.

She said the families that are most likely to participate in the voucher program are those who are least satisfied with public schools — west side, low-income schools — who live in lower income areas.

She said if anything, vouchers would help break up the segregation that already exists in those high-poverty high-minority areas, providing funding that would allow students to attend a school that could serve them better.

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