More money for… Private schools? By Nick Ramos

Just when budgets cuts seem to be the norm for education in the state, legislators seemed to be aiming to decrease funding for public schools even more. Senator Howard Stephenson, R- Salt Lake , introduced SB 151, that would “let taxpayers claim an income tax credit for donations they make to… provide scholarships for qualifying students to attend a private school,” as explained in the Utah Education Association website. This bill may have intended to create a better learning environment for students, but in reality, it would have limited the resources of public schools and created a dilemma about government tax breaks and spending.

To qualify for such a scholarship, the student would’ve had to be between the ages of 5 and 19, come from a low income household (meaning that the child would qualify for a lunch discount at his/her public school), and score “below the proficient level on a statewide summative assessment of language arts, mathematics, science, or writing achievement,” among other requirements in the bill.

Such restrictions would have made it so that only poor-performing students can have the opportunity to attend a private school, creating a disparity among students and undermining the role of teachers in public schools. The disparity would be created by making parents think that their children would get a better education by attending a private school and promoting an "everybody-go-private" mindset for parents. It’s insulting to propose that private school teachers are better than public school teachers. The real issue is with the funding they receive to carry out their work, not with the quality of their teaching.

Taking money away from public schools in the form of tax credits, as SB 151 would have suggested, creates a disparity in the classrooms that “93 percent of all Utah students attend”, according to myUEA.org. Public taxes need to be used to support and teach public students. By keeping such resources within public schools, Utah teachers are given the means they need to effectively educate our youth.

Luckily, Sen. Stephenson made the right decision before the Senate Education committee on Feb 17^th. He realized that proposing such a bill was not appropriate and moved to substitute it with a new proposal which, “directs the Education Interim Committee in 2012 to study programs and initiatives in the state and other states to assist students who score below proficient on assessments of academic achievement or are economically disadvantaged.” There seemed to be a sigh of relief across the room when Sen. Stephenson took this step. Public schools dodged a big bullet.

Utah cannot risk allowing its legislature to take money away from public schools to put it into private schools. Privatization of school funding will lead to academic inequality and lower achievement.