School choice finally getting a hard look

Even in a state that has grabbed hold of its public school monopoly with both hands and refused to budge, the idea of choice is gaining some ground.

In case you hadn't noticed, Utah's largest school districts are in danger of breaking up. Thanks to a new law, any city with at least 65,000 people can now form its own school district, and any smaller city can join with a neighboring city to do the same. It may not be a revolution, but at least people now have a way to voice their dissent.

Comedian Victor Borge used to do a routine in which he talked about his uncle, the inventor. The uncle had come up with a new soft-drink formula he had decided to call "1-up." When that didn't work, he changed it a little and renamed it "2-up." He kept trying until he finally gave up with "6-up." "Who knew?" he asked, as the audience roared.

But in this case, Rep. David Cox, R-Lehi, hit 7-up right away with an idea whose time, unlike private school vouchers, seems to have come.

Several months ago, Cox came to visit the Deseret Morning News editorial board to argue for this law, armed with an evangelist's zeal and several papers showing that smaller districts perform better and cost less. Originally, he wanted to allow even smaller districts, but the idea of restricting them to city boundaries was a compromise that proved popular with local governments and lawmakers. Cox, no fan of vouchers or tuition tax credits, believed people would jump at the chance to have greater control over school districts that are small and manageable.

And really, that's the aim of most school-choice proponents. They want to make education officials more responsive.

As it turns out, it was one of the few times when a public official has not overstated his case.

At the moment, Cottonwood Heights, Sandy, Draper and Midvale are studying whether to join forces and break away from the Jordan District (although this effort seems to be losing steam). West Valley City is pondering a break with the Granite District, as is South Salt Lake. Salt Lake County is considering one for its vast unincorporated areas. Lindon and Orem are studying whether to form districts in Utah County.

And now an opinion poll by Dan Jones & Associates, commissioned by this newspaper and KSL-TV, shows that 54 percent of registered voters statewide approve of the new law, and an amazing 59 percent said they would support cities breaking up large school districts even if it means paying higher property taxes.