Reader comments
Public meets abound before voucher D-day

Some members of the legislature may need to check their spelling. It is spelled Public Service not Public Serve US!!

We didn't want vouchers to begin with, yet they went ahead and told us we were getting them anyhow. I am upset that so many ignored the public, the people they are supposed to be serving just so they could make a dime off special interests. Thank goodness we have a safety net that allows the public to override an out of touch State Legislature.

Private schools have been in competition with public schools for over a hundred years. What innovations, what savings, what has competition done for private education?

Interestingly, a voucher program allows you to choose. So if you don't want the program or choose not to use the program why should you limit the freedoms of others to choose what is best for their child??

Students attending Private schools in Utah is only about 3% compared to a national average of 10 % - 15%. Those who need vouchers the most, those in the west side schools (typically with high ESL kids with lower incomes) who cannot afford to live in on the east side (schools which rank better in the state, and are able to provide more for the students due to city taxes) will be benefited by having the opportunity and ability to afford a school which will better fit their child's needs.

Why should private individuals be given public money to pay for their personal choice?
Why are only 3% of Utah children in private schools? Are private schools more costly in Utah? Are we poorer than the rest of the country? Vouchers will cause very few children to go to private schools. We will end up paying for children who never intended to go to private schools. What makes you think that lower income students will be able to afford private schools even with a voucher?

Why should private individuals be given public money to pay for their personal choice?
Why are only 3% of Utah children in private schools? Are private schools more costly in Utah? Are we poorer than the rest of the country? Vouchers will cause very few children to go to private schools. We will end up paying for children who never intended to go to private schools. What makes you think that lower income students will be able to afford private schools even with a voucher?

Come on Annie,

Private schools aren't going to benefit the poor ESL kids on the West Side. They won't be accepted into the current Private schools (gotta pass those entrance exams). Sure some unproven Private school for ESL kids may pop up, but do you realize how tough a sell to these kids getting their parents to tote the kid to the school, and then make up the cost the voucher doesn't cover? The additional average over-expense after Voucher is going to be just over 1.5 K per child. Then consider that poor ESL families have AT LEAST as many kids as the rest of Utah and you are looking at quite a chunk of change to educate with the vouchers.

Or I could be missing your point. You may have been saying that you want to pull all the white kids out and send them to the Private school so they don't get burdened by the ESL kids. If you are---EGAD!! Is that what voucher supporters are trying to do??