House debate on voucher bill delayed

Long-awaited House debate on a controversial voucher bill, believed to be set for Thursday morning, was delayed until Friday.

Sponsoring Rep. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, said HB148 didn't get on the time-certain debate calendar by a process mistake. The House voted Thursday to debate it Friday at 11 a.m.

"We have the votes; we're fine," Urquhart said. "People are where they are...There's not going to be a lot of movement at this point.

"We want to get this taken care of quickly, but we didn't want to catch anyone unaware."

But the day's wait leads opponents to wonder whether the bill's a shoo-in.

"We hope it means they don't have the votes and a lot of people are taking a hard look at this," Utah Education Association President Kim Campbell said.

Waiting a day might alleviate some of the pressure lawmakers feel as they prepare to vote, said Carol Lear, director of school law and legislation for the State Office of Education. The State Board of Education opposes the voucher concept.

"The longer it is delayed, it's like crying wolf," Lear said. "We need to get on and discuss substantive education issues. This kind of keeps that process from moving forward."

Yet the pause also leaves another day for both sides to lobby even harder.

Lawmakers were receiving results of a study funded by Parents for Choice in Education, the Utah Taxpayers Association and the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation, saying Utah school districts would retain $2,674 per voucher student, possibly totaling $26 million a year, under the proposed program. The taxpayers association called the move a cost-effective step in education.

On the other side, the UEA and other school groups were distributing fliers and e-mail messages, as well as talking with legislators about why they think vouchers are a bad idea for Utah schools. The groups noted that charter schools are already offered in the public system and problems would arise in diverting tax dollars needed in schools that receive the lowest per-student spending in the country.

HB148 would give a government voucher, worth $500 up to $3,000, depending on family income, for private-school tuition. Students switching from public to private schools, who are new to the state or just entering kindergarten would be eligible, as would low-income students in private schools now.