November 6, 2007 election will determine fate of two voucher bills
UEA members will play a huge role in voucher defeat
On November 6, 2007, Utah voters will go to the polls to decide one of the most important public education issues of our time – whether to implement a taxpayer-funded private school tuition voucher plan. Utah Education Association members will play a huge role in the campaign to defeat this ill-conceived legislation.
Thanks to a decision by the Utah Supreme Court, a vote against House Bill 148 – Education Vouchers – will also mean the end of a second voucher bill (House Bill 174) passed by the Utah Legislature in the waning hours of their 2007 session.
Supporters and opponents of the controversial voucher bill are gearing up for a campaign expected to cost millions before the final vote in November.
Recent polls by local and national research organizations show Utahns leaning toward a “no” vote. On July 9, the Deseret Morning News reported that 57 percent of the Utahns surveyed in a Dan Jones & Associates poll “said they would most likely vote against a voucher program. Thirty-six percent said they would vote for vouchers while 6 percent were undecided,” the Salt Lake newspaper reported.
Harstad Strategic Research, a Washington, D.C.-based firm, polled 703 Utah voters from June 26-29, 2007 and found 48 percent of the survey group would vote against vouchers, 37 percent would vote for vouchers, and 14 percent said they don’t know or “it depends.”According to the Harstad data, three issues seem to concern voters most – per pupil spending, class size, and numerous accountability questions tied to House Bill 148. | full story ...
NEA president calls on Congress to invest in education by closing corporate tax loopholes and creating economic development centers
National Education Association President Reg Weaver is calling for a new, national education initiative to develop the nation’s human capital and keep America competitive in the 21st century. The proposal would involve closing tax loopholes to strengthen the nation’s investment in education at all levels. The project is called the Extension Service for Knowledge, Information and Development, or KIDs.
“Most states are trying to adapt to a changing economy by offering tax cuts to industries that promise to create jobs — promises that often go unfilled,” Weaver said. “We are placing our economic future not in the hands of our children, but in big corporations.”
Weaver detailed his plan before more than 9,000 delegates during the Neal’s Representative Assembly in Philadelphia. The plan would provide grassroots support to local schools and businesses by creating economic development centers at major universities. The centers would conduct research and develop innovations in businesses. That knowledge and expertise would be available at local schools and through local extension agents. The proposal is modeled after the successful Agriculture Extension Program, which provided farmers with advice and assistance to produce more goods in less time, with less land.
Weaver said that tax breaks to attract industry cost states more than $50 billion a year. Federal tax loopholes for businesses cost our nation another $50 billion. Weaver noted that the KIDs program provides a better approach. “A program like this would empower millions of entrepreneurs across the U.S. to start businesses and create jobs,” Weaver added. “It would fuel new research, strengthen our universities and improve our public schools. This is the kind of commitment our nation needs and our children and grandchildren deserve." | full story ...
