Debate is tonight

BOUNTIFUL — For the second time this month, leaders on both sides of the controversial school voucher issue will be facing off to give the community a chance to get a closer look at the pros and cons.

Today the United Women's Forum will sponsor a two-hour debate between former Salt Lake City Board of Education president Joel Briscoe, who opposes vouchers and currently teaches civics at Bountiful High, and Leah Barker, spokeswoman for the pro-voucher group Parents for Choice in Education.

The Parent Choice in Education Act, which was approved by the Legislature this past spring, would provide Utah families with a private-school tuition voucher ranging from $500 to $3,000 per student based on parents' income.

Critics say that public money should not be going to private schools that are only accessible in certain areas of the state.

The debate will be at the Bountiful Library, 725 S. Main St., Bountiful, at 6:30 p.m.