Reader comments
Some highlights and lowlights of 2007

Vouchers going down was the biggest disappointment? Get over it already.

The people have spoken.

It was a lousy law and horrible mistake. We don't need vouchers. We just need legislators who take REAL public education seriously.

And now for Webb to say, "you heard it here first"....we are heading for a funding disaster when the economy hits the tank...yada yada yada

Guess what Mr. Webb? The public has been saying this for years and the legislators haven't been listening. We don't need lower taxes. We need more funding for our teachers' salaries in this state.

No crisis coming that couldn't and shouldn't be avoided....


VOUCHERS WILL NEVER BE THE ANSWER!

"...the voucher battle was a just and noble cause..."? Vouchers are about privatizing public education for personal financial gain, hardly just and noble. Thank goodness the public is not willing to shirk the responsibility of educating all Utah children unlike certain conservative caucus legislators.
The voters won't forget this, are you listening Utah County legislators?

Just have to say amen to the first two comments. Vouchers were a complete joke. We don't need anything different in our public schools except we need teachers to stay in the profession longer than 5 years. As I look around at my children's school, there are at least 3 new teachers every year now. No one is staying in the profession as a career. That will come back to haunt us. I believe it already is.

The legislature has put this off for too long now. We have to invest some real money into the system.

Every year the legislators come back and say, "but we invested this many millions more..."
What they don't say is that it is more money but it is only breaking even because we now have thousands more students in the system. When you have more students of course you are going to have to spend more.

We need to pay our teachers about $15,000 more a year and then we would see some career teachers in our state instead of the temp agency we have now.

Vouchers in Australia didn't increase choice. It pushed the government to establish a lottery system to get into a private school. Now you CAN'T go to a private school, no matter how much money you have, unless your number comes up. Some choice huh!

It also didn't get rid of unions. It merely spread them to the private schools. Just last month a news article said that the Catholic school teachers were threatening to go on strike to lower class sizes.

Neo-conservatives keep thinking vouchers will do all these things that it won't. They still refuse to see that it is a government subsidy of a private business, which they proclaim to oppose.

Sorry everyone, vouchers would have made an incredible difference in the education of our children. Kudos to LaVarr Webb and his insight.

Utahns don't have enough money to pull us out of last place in per pupil spending. There isn't a tax increase large enough to solve Utah's education mess.

...Pignanelli is correct. Mike Huckabee is scary.

Right. We don't need vouchers. We don't need to do anything different.

Look, as long as you are willing to accept the continuing failure of the schools to adequately educate the children, then the status quo is fine. Otherwise, something needs to change.

Get off the voucher soap box! It was a bad idea and the legislators who pushed it down our throats will see the wrath of the voters. Public finding increases for public education is a necessity. Are you listneing legislators? That means higher salaries for teachers (not administrators), smaller class sizes, increased funds for supplies and materials and not forgetting the whole child as we educate. Music, the other fine arts, PE, social studies and foreign languages must be taught to all elementary school children K-6 weekly. They will assist in raising test scores and in developing skills necessary for success in life. Higher salaries for public safety officers, firefighters and nurses are essential too. Let's make 2008 the year of real change in Utah with spending our surplus dollars on people and programs that matter. Let's change the face of the Utah State Legislature. We need balance, not more of what we have had for many years.

Very interesting how this newspaper allows two lobbyists to pimp their causes, partners and clients. Its getting rather disgusting.

Would Pignanelli tell us about how Foxley (his partner) brought waste dumps to Utah?

Would Lavar Webb (a lobbyist) tell us what the pro voucher group wanted to do after passing the voucher program. Their intent was to privatize as much of government as possible. Yes, I'm sure the legislators would have been a part of this new industry as they have with charter schools and nuclear plants.