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Vouchers killed

The union was successful this time, but they can't maintain the status quo forever.

Just because Utahns voted against this specific voucher bill does not mean that they do not want school choice. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The fact that 1/3 of voters think the system needs major reform should give the public school system reason to reexamine their priorities. Unfortunately, this is not in the nature of monopolies.

Regardless, I'm confident that one day, the Legislature will create a school choice program that's acceptable to Utahns (despite the misinformation of the unions). And then, we'll finally have an education system that focuses on what's best for the child and not just the self serving interests of the system.

Nobody was holding their breath.

Too bad this just became a battle of the rich versus the poor.

Would Utahns still hate the vouchers if the scholarships were withheld from the rich altogether, rather than being capped at $500?

Patrick Byrne is ashamed of Utah? An IQ test and we failed? There has been too much horrible name calling on both sides of this issue. Hopefully soon, calmer heads will prevail and people will start showing respect for one another. We are a community of differing viewpoints, but it's not okay to belittle someone for disagreeing. Unfortunately he doesn't seem to be willing to do any problem-solving that doesn't include him being able to make more money. Public schools a death sentence? Honestly, that's just mean.

Even with a PhD in Educational Psychology and 41 years of multi-program, multi-disciplinary involvement in the public schools, to include: teacher, counselor, school psychologist, initiator, cordinator, and participant in the "Parent and Child Together program, (a multi-agency, after-school program, writer and presenter of the "TV Talk for Families" instrument (working with the State PTA), grant writer and teacher for Salt Lake District's adult English as an second language grant writer and teacher, developer of the "Adolescent Ethics in Action" and "How the World Works" life/career learning instruments, member of the UEA state teacher's association board of directors, testing with the adult GED program for jail, prison, and alcoholic recovery center participants, admistrator of the Morris Airlines field trips for parents, student, and educators to Seatle, Portland, San Diago, L.A., Denver,& Pheonix, teaching college level parenting and family relations classes working on state and local curriculum commities-- improving the learning experiences of students in the public schools is my professional and parental "choice".

"I am opposed to free education as much as I am opposed to taking property from one man and giving it to another...would I encourage free schools by taxation? No! (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 18:357)

The end does not justify the means, whatever the argument is for a well educated public. Use taxes should be used to fund education.

As a Mormon with kids I should respect the property rights of others. I will educate my kids without becoming a education welfare bum. If one refuses to pay the property tax, their home is STOLEN from them. So much for owning property or having property rights in Amerika. There should be shame involved when a predominate group thinks it can vote their way into their brother's pocket.

I am surprised to see the PTA throwing their lots in with the unions. Isn't the purpose of the PTA to improve education for the children? Or is it to protect big-money interests? Apparently the latter.

This vote will hurt school choice programs nationwide for years. The winners: Union leaders, school administrators, and college professors in colleges of education. The losers: Children, teachers, and taxpayers.

Can someone give a rational explanation for why the UEA, which supposedly wants smaller class sizes and more money per student, spent millions of dollars to make sure we do not have smaller class sizes and more money per student? I hate to think it gets reduced to possibly reduced union dues.

I have never seen a State Government that is so out of touch with the voice of the people. When the state had a huge surplus two years ago, a poll was taken, that asked the people what should be done with the extra money. #1 response, tax cuts, #2 response improve public schools. The last response was use the money for roads. So what does the State Government do? They give the largest portion to UTA----? So every time you see the Utah State Animal (i.e. the orange cones) remember, they have to justify their huge budget, and tear up roads that seem to be perfectly fine. I am an loyal Republican, have never in my life voted Democrat. Now I will be thinking hard about voting for a Government that does not listen to the people. Wake up Utah Legislature! Fix public schools, and give tax credits to those who take their kids to private schools.

The issue is not dead yet and we still have the opportunity to bring it to vote again. The polls were a shambles this year and many voters did not vote because they were turned away by long and time consuming lines. Then there is still the doubt of the accuracy of the electronic voting machines that can easily be corrupted. The state education system should be looking at this as a wake up call about the quality of education in Utah. Although a victory is being claimed the nuubers should be telling the Utah education system a sad tale about the education in Utah. Parents want their children to get a fair education and Utahs public education system lacks the ability to provide what they collect taxes for. The issue can still be brought to light and revoted on again. Utah public education is very bad and a disgrace to Utah. The systems own reports have proven that education is Utah is not as it should be and how poor a job they have done.

The message to the legislature is this: take seriously your responsibility to adequately fund a quality public school system that the state can be proud of! Offering families incentives to go elsewhere would have been an advertisement for a failing system and would have exacerbated the problem.

I hope this sends a message to the Legislature, from vouchers to soccer stadiums they should represent the people instead of special interests. We can and should use our votes to remove from office those who don't truly represent us.

I live in one of the worst-- violent and drug infested school districts in the nation in Georgia. Here we do not even have a choice to drive our kids to a different public school form the one that we live by. I can not afford private school and I was hoping that a voucher law in utah would set an example for the rest of the country to follow. i am very dissapointed. on day as the schools get worse in utah, utah residents will realize how much this vote has hurt their children.

As it has been said a thousand times. You have school choice. Open Enrollment, and private schools are in place to offer you a choice. I just dont want to pay for your choice. If you want to send kids to private school, fine, but you pay for it. The people have spoken and said Utah wants the best education for all of its children just not the rich and those along the Wasatch front.

I hope the legislators will listen to the people now. We love education and we want our taxes to go to all children. Let's work to improve the current system, but let's acknowledge that our system is working. Congratulations to the teachers who are hardworking and teach our students. Thank you to the many citizens who voted with the needs of all students in mind.

If we can't get rid of the soup with the dead fly in it, lets spend more money putting in spices so we can feel better about not tasting the fly. Also, don't cry when the "Elite" who send their kids to private school get the dream job your public school kid always wanted.

"Just because Utahns voted against this specific voucher bill does not mean that they do not want school choice."
Uh, actually, that's exactly what it means. The vote wasn't even close! If you want to send your kid to a private school, fine. But don't expect tax payers to pony up the money for it.
What the vote meant was that if you don't think public roads are good enough, you'll have to pay for your own. The same is true with education.And as for Patrick Byrne, he needs to learn that sometimes he can be just plain wrong. Pouting after losing just looks petty.

Utah's voucher initiative was followed with interest here in California where the union teachers have become so involved with PC loaded issues the children are not learning good old reading writing and aritmetic to prepare them for a useful life. My family members were once public school advocates. No more. We have our grandchildren in private schools, vouchers or no, where they are able to learn needed subjects. Just a casual observation of them with their public school playmates will show the private school children to be vastly better educated. While my impression of Utah school teachers is that they are not imbedded with as much PC baloney as their California counterparts, you Utah parents will eventually come to regret your vote against school vouchers. The socialists want absolute control over your children's education. Why do you think there was so much money poured into defeating your voucher initiative? Altruism was not an issue.

"I don't buy that. When you run the ball down to the 2-yard line you don't get four points for it � (the loss) is shameful," Byrne said

4 points? What sport is this guy playing?

Wow, that was pretty good. In one breath we say, "... it's not okay to belittle someone for disagreeing." In the very next breath we get, "...he doesn't seem to be willing to do any problem-solving that doesn't include him being able to make more money." That sounds an awful lot like "belittling for disagreeing" to me.

I don't agree with the "death sentence" comment either, however I do wonder how many of Utahns on both side of the issue actually read the language of the bill in question. Or even knew that it wasn't HB 148 that would have been implemented with a yes vote, but HB 174?

It seems that Utah, though failing its IQ test, is smart enough not to allow some out-of-state millionaire to dictate to us how our school system should be run. It is amazing to me that Patrick Byrne thinks he can move in from New Hampshire, buy up our politicians, and impose his will on us. We know that Utah was "picked" by Byrne and certain political groups as a place where the referendum would pass...guess they got it all wrong! Public education will succeed with the support of the people of Utah.