Utah And School Vouchers

I've never once wished to live in Utah, but I have to admit a twinge of jealousy right now. John Stossel reports on Referendum 1 on next Tuesday's Utah ballot, which would grant public school children eligibility for vouchers between $300-5,000 a year, depending on family income. Basically, it would give parents some money with which to send their kids to better private schools rather than low-achieving public schools. Opposition is mainly in the form of teachers unions, principles' associations, and other school administrator groups. Some excerpts [emphasis mine]:

Government schools in America fail while spending on average more than $11,000 per student. Utah spends $7,500. Think what an innovative education entrepreneur would do with so much money. It's more than $150,000 per classroom!

The answer to mediocre public schooling isn't to give a government monopoly more "teacher development programs." The answer is competition.

Competition and choice mean parent power. It's parents whom the education lobby really fears. The last thing it wants is a system in which parents choose their children's schools. Parents might not choose the union-dominated establishment schools.

Vouchers will make schools accountable to parents rather than a bureaucracy. Principals and administrators will have to convince parents that they are doing a good job. That's real accountability. And the Utah law requires private schools to submit to independent financial audits and give students a nationally recognized test each year. The results would be publicly disclosed, giving parents information they can use to judge schools.

The [anti-voucher] coalition claims that "vouchers will cost at least $429 million ... funds that could be used in public schools to reduce class size, provide textbooks and supplies." But voucher supporters note that since an average voucher would be worth only $2,000 and the state spends more than $7,500 per student, government schools would have $5,500 more per lost student to spend on the remaining students. They should be happy about that.

I've long been a fan of school vouchers, for precisely these reasons. Having young children myself, this hits pretty close to home.

Vouchers would totally transform the education sector, and there would certainly be some pain in the transition, but wouldn't it ultimately be worth it if our children ultimately got a better education through the best teachers, the best supplies, and the best schools? It's yet another example -- very similar to health care -- of an all-powerful nanny state running things compared to unleashing the ingenuity, competition, and results-oriented power of the American people.

It will be very interesting to see what Utah voters decide.

There's my two cents.