Voucher War

Shurtleff Demands School Board Implement Vouchers

By Tracy Medley, 5-15-07

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has come out swinging on the hotly debated private school voucher issue, telling the Utah State Board of Education to implement the voucher program immediately. That is according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Despite widespread, public opposition to the state’s recently passed school voucher legislation, Shurtleff wants to rip off the band-aid, and quick.

The Board of Education has naturally taken a more precautious route, seeking legal council before going forward with the state’s remaining version of the voucher law. The alternate version is now up for public vote thanks to a successful petition drive led by Utahns for Public Schools. The petition garnered nearly 130,000 signatures from taxpayers throughout the state. The law that remains is sketchy enough legally to cause concern for those worried about potential lawsuits.

Beyond the fear of lawsuits, is it really the best idea for the state to go forward with an earlier, messier version of a voucher bill, when the “nicer” version is currently awaiting a voter-mandated referendum vote? State Democrats don’t think so. Senate Minority Leader Mike Dmitrich and House Minority Leader Ralph Becker drafted a letter asking Governor Jon Huntsman to hold a special session in May to clear up the voucher issue before the scheduled November vote.

“The public knows that the referendum on vouchers was on the question of whether Utah should allow vouchers for private schools. That will properly be the focus of the election. Any technical issues from the different interpretations of the legislation is extraneous to this basic issue that the people of Utah have the right to express themselves on. We should not be wasting State resrouces and the people’s energy on a red herring,” Becker and Dmitrich wrote in their letter.

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