Vouchers a volatile issue
Support is still lacking; lawmaker drafting bill
The numbers don't surprise or discourage Rep. Brad Dee, R-Washington Terrace. He believes the results show it's high time to find common ground. And he thinks a bill he's drafting now can do just that.
Although the wording of the question has differed year to year, Deseret Morning News polling on the issue has never shown majority support for tuition tax credits.
This most recent poll asked 400 Utah adults whether they favor or oppose a state tax credit or government voucher for parents who send their children to private schools. Forty percent said they would definitely or probably favor the concept; 54 percent said they would probably or definitely oppose it. Seven percent said they didn't know.
The survey, conducted Nov. 10-12 for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV, has a plus or minus 5 percent error margin.
Tuition tax credits have been one of the Hill's hottest issues this decade. Bills have been pitched every year. One passed the Senate; none have passed the House.
"Parents are looking for a choice," said Royce Van Tassell, spokesman for Education Excellence Utah. "They know more and care more about their children than anyone else."
But opponents say vouchers and tuition tax credits pull money away from an underfunded public school system. All Utah income-tax dollars fund education. Some also believe public schools are the fabric of a unified society and that tuition tax credits and vouchers would rip that apart.
"When we start sending more of our kids to separate schools, we separate and fragment our society," said Kim Burningham, chairman of the State Board of Education. "Consistently, the public has said they really want their local schools to be strong, and the private schools, though they're fine, should not be supported with public money."
But Dee believes the two sides can find common ground.
Tax credit supporters may make up less than half of his constituents, "but they're saying something," he said.
"It's legislators' obligation, if not their full responsibility, to listen to every point of view," he said. "If we say, maybe we can achieve some of your goals . . . maybe there's some middle ground and a way to meet the needs of our entire constituency rather than the plurality of who's got larger poll numbers."
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