From Deseret News archives:
U. timing on voucher report irks lawmakers
Lawmakers say they are more concerned about the timing of the report from the U.'s Center for Public Policy and Administration than its content. Curtis went so far as to call the U.'s vice president for government affairs, Kim Wirthlin.
Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, R-Provo, said he did not fault Curtis for making the call. "From my understanding of what that call was, it was appropriate," the Senate leader said, adding he had talked with Curtis about his conversation with Wirthlin.
Curtis' chief of staff, Chris Bleak, told the Deseret Morning News that Curtis did not want to talk about the call. However, Curtis reportedly told KUTV Ch. 2 that the university would "create hard feelings with certain members of the Legislature" because of the report.
David Patton, director of the U. center, said the intent of the report was to provide unbiased information to people who wanted to make a decision about the voucher issue.
"It's really pretty basic," Patton said. "We tried to be as fair as we could, and I was kind of surprised by the reaction on this, because that is not our reputation at all."
Patton said he didn't understand the concern over the timing of the report's release.
"Now is when people are trying to make up their minds and are thinking about it and are going to vote on Tuesday," he said. "So to us, this is when the issue was relevant."
Bramble said he didn't believe there would be any repercussions for the U. from lawmakers: "At the end of the day, I don't see this as anything that would cause grief for the U. from the Legislature, based on the content of the report."
He said he hadn't even heard of the report until a voucher opponent cited it as supporting her position during a legislative town meeting in Provo earlier this week.
"I was surprised that we didn't hear anything about it over the previous several weeks that vouchers have been debated," Bramble said Thursday, adding that anyone reading the report "would be hard-pressed to claim it was pro-voucher or anti-voucher."
What concerned him and other lawmakers, Bramble said, was the timing of the report. "Coming out that late in the game gives the appearance of being politically motived," he said. "Why would you want to do that?"
The voucher program would allow Utah families to receive private-school tuition vouchers ranging from $500 to $3,000 per student attending a private school, based on parents' income.
