Why Vote for Referendum #1?

Because Referendum #1 Puts Utah Kids First

1. The State of Utah already has a voucher system. Structured exactly like the voucher system being proposed, in all practical elements. (State Statute 53A1A704)


2. FACTS: There are around 500,000 kids total in the Government public education system in Utah. There are about 45,000 kids who finish public school each year. (Meaning terminate their experience with Government public schools.) 62% leave by graduating. 38% leave with out graduating. (Either by dropping out or going to private school.) 16,000 Children each year say good-bye with out a diploma. During a kids life cycle in the system (the 13 years of education) almost 200,000 would have been failed by that system. Argument: If we were in the business to get a kid from kindergarten to graduation, anyone who leaves that system early is a sign that we are doing something bad or wrong. If this happened in a business, would the business stay in business?


3. The public schools receive and spend over $3.5 billion 3,500,000,000.00) per year in Utah. The vouchers are estimated at the most to spend $10 million - $12 million (10,000,000.00 - 12,000,000.00). That is 3/10 of 1% of the total education funding in the state of Utah.


4. Almost 1 out of 10 of 7 - 12 graders leave public school every year. In the Ogden school district during 2006, 21% of the kids left. (1 in 5 kids left) In the Salt Lake school district 17% left.


5. Using these numbers, public schools are wasting $1,017,660,000 per year. At $3,000 per voucher, the maximum allowed by the law, this is enough money to give a 339,000 kids a chance.


6. 25% of all of the students enrolled in the government schools cannot pass the standard Core CRT language art or Core CRT mathematics tests. (Some school districts are higher some are lower) That is more than 100,000 kids.


7. Just under 40% of low income students are failing math and language arts core tests. The schools unfairly advantage the "rich kids". If you are a "rich kid" you can afford to get out or at least hire a tutor. What about the kids who cannot afford the help. In 2006 we spent $260,000,000 on those students and they can neither read nor do math.


8. The voucher struggle is part of a much bigger political struggle, and we have the opportunity to set a standard for freedom. How can the government fail in this way and people are afraid to call it what it is. Most of the teachers are Great, but the system "sucks" and the teachers know it! The honest teaches know it and endure it because they love the kids! It's a political system that says that the propose of government is to make our life better, instead of to protect rights. There is a build in constituency of private education unions who have so much influence over the government that the peoples elected representatives cannot challenge them. What happens when our elected officials get to be over-ridden because of the whining and complaining of non-government special interest groups? These special interest groups are interested in excusing failure, hiding truth, and protecting their posture or positioning in ociety. Their special interest is not the kids; just look at the 40% of low-income kids who are failing. Are you telling me that with $260,000,000 and 8 months you cannot teach that 40% to read? This is not just about education! There is a reason the UEA and NEA are running scared.


9. Politically naive private school entrepreneurs are losing ground in Utah. 3% is all that private schools have and that is shrinking. For every 16,000 that get out of government schools, there are over 100,000 who cannot to get out and their lives are being ruined because you (private school entrepreneurs) are so high-minded in your righteousness that you do not want to pass vouchers. There are practical reasons that vouchers suck, but if we are going to win the long battle to fix the problems, we had better start making victories now! Is it not worth fighting for the kids?


10. The two issues that are constantly brought up in regards to vouchers are non-starters. School class size and control over private schools.
    
    
    1. School class size: Pro Voucher: If you take kids out of the class then you have more funds for the remaining kids in the class and a smaller class size. Anti-Voucher: But if you remove kids from the class the school district will fire a teacher and put all of the kids into another class thus increasing the class size, it is based on a mathematical equation. Or in other words, they are agreeing that the system is broken and the teachers do not hsystem!
    
    
    2. Control over private schools: First, Utah already has enough legislation to control private schools, they just don't. It's the UEA who wants more control over private schools. If you give into the UEA on vouchers you will see more control over private schools. There are no private schools that, under this law, would be forced to comply, and any school that does participate could opt out at any time.
    
    
    Your biggest enemy right now is not the State of Utah. It's the UEA who has control and influence with the State of Utah. If you give into the UEA and lobbyists now, you will be sowing your own seeds of destruction. If the legislature cannot pass a law or some aversion away from UEA, they your emboldening your enemy! This Law weakens the already socialized school system.

This list has been paraphrased from the October 16, 2007 broadcast of the Rick Koerber Show. Information and copies of the Rick Koerber Show can be found at www.freecapitalist.com All statistic listed in the list were gathered from the Utah State Office of Education schools.utah.gov

Moms and Dads know better than anyone else what works best for their child. Not all kids get what they need in their assigned public school, but those kids deserve a good education too. The law provides for a scholarship of $500 to $3,000 depending on income level. With over 120 private schools and average tuition of less than $4,000, parents who need an alternative will now have a real option.

This school year taxpayers will spend more than $7,500 per student in public schools. The average voucher amount is $2,000. That means that, when a student leaves with a voucher, $5,500 stays in the local school increasing per pupil funding and lowering class size. That savings means more than $1 billion for public school students over thirteen years, according to Utah State University .

The savings from Referendum 1 means that we are more equipped to handle growth in public schools. Over the next ten years, 150,000 new students will enter school. Referendum 1 shifts some of that growth to private schools, where space already exists, and at a much lower cost. As taxpayers, we can then provide quality education to all students without raising taxes. That is putting Utah Kids 1st!

Scholarship programs like Referendum 1 exist in many states across the country. Academic studies from leading researchers (like Harvard University , The Manhattan Institute and more) prove that these programs lead to:

• more funding for public schools, and
• higher academic performance for students in all schools.