Tricia Bunderson: The Utah Legislature tied the voucher bill to teacher raises, effectively holding raises hostage, they suspended regular processes to push the bill through the House — and who is funding this, anyway?
Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Riverton, sponsor of HB215, otherwise known as “Funding for teacher salaries and optional education opportunities,” is projected on a screen as she speaks on the bill in committee at the Utah Capitol during the start of the Legislative session on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023.Bad policy is nearly always accompanied by bad process and a lack of ethics. Allow me to illustrate by using Utah’s school voucher bill as an example.
3. Where did all the money come from to fund a pro-voucher messaging campaign that began weeks before the session started, complete with bill specifics, websites, graphics, text blasts and t-shirts? 6. Legislators and pro-voucher groups have used flawed data to misrepresent constituents. They have touted a survey saying that 74% of parents support vouchers and that the tide of public opinion has shifted, but what is hidden in the fine print is that. I think it’s safe to say that n=85 is not a representative sample.
8. The Republican supermajority doesn’t seem to be interested in the will of the people. Time for a bit of history. Back in 2007, the Legislature passed a voucher law, but citizens were so dismayed that they gathered 125,000 signatures in order to put it to a statewide referendum vote later that year. The result? Vouchers were soundly defeated.
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