Voucher foes win a round

The efforts of thousands of anti-voucher volunteers yielded a win for Utahns for Public Schools on Monday, along with setting a record for the number of signatures gathered for a referendum petition.

Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert said that not only are the 124,218 verified signatures a record number on a referendum petition, it's the first time in 33 years a referendum petition has been successful. The last one resulted in a land-use bill being overturned, in 1974.

Voucher opponents Monday were celebrating, while supporters said it was no big surprise.

"When you have that many PTA moms and teachers and other government employees working on this, it's not hard to gather enough signatures to put on the ballot," said Elisa Clements, executive director of Parents for Choice in Education.

The next step in the process is for the state's Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel to enroll a title within 15 days and prepare what language will go on the ballot.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has said he will set the election day for Feb. 5, 2008 — the day of the U.S. presidential primary election. But officials predict lawsuits will be filed before then.

The voucher law that the Legislature passed earlier this year provides Utah families with a private-school tuition voucher ranging from $500 to $3,000 per student attending a private school, based on parents' income. HB148 also appropriates $9.2 million to offset any financial impact that school districts may experience for five years after a student leaves and goes to a private school.

But voucher opponents — Utahns for Public Schools, a group that includes the Utah PTA, Utah Education Association and the NAACP — don't like the idea of shifting public money to private schools.

In March, the group filed for a referendum to let voters either repeal or keep the voucher program. They were required to collect 92,000 signatures — 10 percent of the votes cast for the last gubernatorial election — and to obtain that percentage in at least 15 counties in order to qualify for a referendum.

Herbert said the group had gathered more than 124,000 verifiable signatures in 25 of the 29 counties.

Kim Burningham, spokesman for Utahns for Public Schools and president of the State Board of Education, said the group ended up with more signatures than he expected.

"This is an issue of a lot of concern," he said. "We have known that for some time, and it's been hanging around the Legislature for years. To pass this year by just one vote indicates this is not a slam dunk for anybody and is a decision that must be weighed heavily."