School Vouchers: Getting out the Vote
I’m a big proponent of parents’ choice in education, so I was initially discouraged a few weeks ago when I saw a that a telephone survey showed a majority of Utahns opposed to Referendum 1.
Since then, however, I’ve become convinced that it can pass, partially because many of the people opposed to the legislation simply won’t vote. (Think about it –have you seen more signs FOR or AGAINST referendum 1? Those are voters.)
I was also encouraged to learned that normally standard questions like “Do you plan on voting this year?” and “Did you vote in municipal elections last year?” were not asked in the survey, possibly leading to a numbers bias as far as votes are concerned.
Lastly, I’ve also seen a TON of anti-voucher ads appearing in my mailbox. That’s a condition that would not occur if the opposition felt the cat was in the bag. Rather, they’ve done their research and know it’s dangerously close; and thus the deluge of expensive ads.
The question, therefor, is can we get out the vote? I think we can and will; but if we want to get the voters to the polls, you and I need to go a little outside of our comfort zone and talk to our friends, family, and neighbors. If we want to win (and win we must) we need to beat the ads by getting the word out on a very personal level.
So - I’m putting my mouth were my mouth is: from now until election day (just over a week from now) I will vary (as is my right) from my normal biz and tech format to blog exclusively about why I think Referendum 1 must pass –and what we can do to ensure that it does. I’ll outline its merits, debunk some common misconceptions, and hopefully I’ll win some of you over at the polls.
As a side note, I know that this is a hotly debated issue. It’s in my nature to avoid those, but to me (personally) this is just too important to ignore. I’ll try to keep a level head about it, and I hope you will too.
Please feel free to post your thoughts and comments –just know that I probably won’t be able to respond to them all. If you do comment, try not to be belligerent since I will be moderating every post, but do free to challenge my opinion as long as you’re nice about it. I welcome niceness regardless of its source! :)
And now, without further ado: let the posts begin!
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Tags: Choice in Education, Competition, Education, Free Market, Freedom in Education, Informed Voters, Parental Choice, Politics, Private School, Referendum 1, School Vouchers, Schools, Voting, Voucher Debates, Vouchers
October 29th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
I’m with you, Jordy - I think that anybody who is anti-voucher knows deep down inside that the public school system is failing our children and can’t compete in a market-driven environment.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
One thing still bothers me about Ref 1. How does taking money from the general ed fund help the failing public system? The numbers just don’t match.
Not only that, but on KSL Radio Gov Huntsman was saying that the only reason he supports Ref 1 was that the “numbers” make sense.
So, How does taking money from the gen ed fund and giving it to a student, Who’s family has to be in a certain income bracket, help that student attend the private school in the first place? That student still has to come up with the difference in tuition? I have yet to read where a private schools tuition is less then 7k. So with a 3k voucher the students family, which is already in a low income bracket, has to come up with 4k to even attend the school. Now if they qualified at a higher income then they would recieve less voucher and the cost would increase.
I have yet to see any rebuttal for ref 1 on the voters pamphlet that shows the numbers. The numbers do not add up. no one has ever made 2+2=5. Seems to me like this Choice doesn’t benefit anyone, but those that are talking with their right hand while their left has the gun hidden.
What we need is a lottery that eases the tax burden in Utah and helps the school system with the needed funds to at least provide adequate education.
How is that helping that Utah family.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
@ Preston - I think public schools CAN compete for most students, and for most students they’re just fine –but they’re not right for everyone. This bill would just give options to those who fall for through the cracks or have other niche needs not provided by the public school system.
@ John - I will discuss your concerns in detail in an upcoming post, but the truth is that low income families are already bridging the pricing gap, albeit at tremendous personal sacrifice. Stay tuned for more.
October 30th, 2007 at 8:01 am
Seriously, jordy? You think our current education system works? It seems to me that when the government protects a virtual monopoly (in this case, education) the outcome isn’t pretty.
John - I think the benefits are long term. If people can choose how to spend the tax dollars that they are pumping into the education system then over time the public schools will need to compete on quality and price with for-profit institutions. You shouldn’t be forced to subsidize a business (school) if you choose not to do business with them (your kids don’t go there).
October 30th, 2007 at 9:06 am
@ Preston
I think the public school system is failing some kids, even many kids, but it’s certainly not failing ALL kids. I think, for example, that I was well served by my public schools most of the time.
The point is not that private schools are generally better than public schools (although you could certainly argue that); it’s that Utah families should be able to choose which schools are best for their own kids. In cases where the public school system is failing kids, parents should have viable alternatives.
October 30th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
There is no “one size fits all” solution to education, but the public schools do a much better job in most cases than we give them credit for. Certainly they do fail some kids — I’m too well acquainted with specific examples to ever claim otherwise. But it’s instructive to note that, despite our often heard complaints about lowest per-pupil funding and everything that goes with it, Utah is the only state in the Union that has ZERO high schools categorized as “drop-out factories” (schools where no more than 60% of incoming freshmen graduate).
I’ve looked at private schools. I’ve looked at home schooling. I’m happy to say that there is no school available where I could send my daughter that’s any better than our neighborhood public school (Wasatch). Granted, that amounts to saying that Wasatch is at the top end of the curve (and it is), but there’s at least one public school that is definitely not failing.
October 31st, 2007 at 8:52 am
Good points, Gary. The only thing I have to say is that 60% is a weak standard. That statistic certainly says something about the schools system nationwide –in which case Preston may have a good point.