A Republican Shootout in the West
Rep. Dave Hogue has just filed to run against Sen. Howard Stephenson in a race that will showcase two competing philosophies in Utah's Republican Party.
Hogue's Riverton district in part of Stephenson's sprawling Senate district on the south end of Salt Lake County, that covers Draper and runs to the west into Riverton.
Hogue has been listed as a Republican target by Parents for Choice in Education and other groups pushing for tuition tax credits for parents who send their children to private schools. Hogue has consistently voted against vouchers and has shown himself to be an advocate of public education who believes public schools would be damaged by tuition tax credit legislation.
Hogue was a target two years ago and Stephenson distributed two letters to Hogue's constituents urging them to vote for his opponent in the Republican convention and primary.
Stephenson, a registered lobbyist for the Utah Taxpayers Association, has aligned himself with the pro-tuition-tax-credit groups, which might make the intra-party fight pretty much a one-issue affair, especially since the tuition-tax-credit advocates have said they have as much as $40,000 to spend on each candidate that agrees with their cause.
Cheers,
Paul Rolly
Hogue's Riverton district in part of Stephenson's sprawling Senate district on the south end of Salt Lake County, that covers Draper and runs to the west into Riverton.
Hogue has been listed as a Republican target by Parents for Choice in Education and other groups pushing for tuition tax credits for parents who send their children to private schools. Hogue has consistently voted against vouchers and has shown himself to be an advocate of public education who believes public schools would be damaged by tuition tax credit legislation.
Hogue was a target two years ago and Stephenson distributed two letters to Hogue's constituents urging them to vote for his opponent in the Republican convention and primary.
Stephenson, a registered lobbyist for the Utah Taxpayers Association, has aligned himself with the pro-tuition-tax-credit groups, which might make the intra-party fight pretty much a one-issue affair, especially since the tuition-tax-credit advocates have said they have as much as $40,000 to spend on each candidate that agrees with their cause.
Cheers,
Paul Rolly
10:43 AM
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4 Comments:
These voucher activists are making the teachers' unions seems like saints. They've got PLENTY OF MONEY already for vouchers it seems. I was appalled by their tactics 2 years ago, but now I am even moreso. Their actions certainly aren't conservative or at least what I view as being so.
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If the district can not provide a quality school for the child, the parents should be able to take their child and place them in a private institution or another school.
If the school is failing, the parents should not be penalized for their desires to have their child receive a quality education. They should not pay for the short comings of political leaders and district mistakes. School Districts overall need to learn better management and how to deliver a better education with what they have available.
The argument that this will hurt schools is not entirely grounded. Utah is not the only state with this issue, and in states where vouchers are an option, the schools are not hurt anymore than before they introduced vouchers.
What end up happening are families that end up moving away from their communities to areas with better schools or better option. So our whole community will lose out, we become less attractive to new employers, new people looking to move to a new city. US Census has shown a trend in people in the ages of mid 20s to early 40s moving away from the coastal states to cities like Reno and Salt Lake. The common reason found, people that are now having children are looking for good schools, healthy job markets, low taxes, and a safe community. These issues will relate directly to income taxes, property taxes, which have a bigger effect on schools than providing vouchers.
Like I said the voucher liberals have lots of money already for vouchers. They don't need to use others' to subsidize it. PEOPLE already have choices.
The whole argument that parents don't have choice is hogwash as well. Whenever the people in my neighborhood don't like the school, they have taken their child out of it. There are MYRIADS of choices available. But that personal choice shouldn't be subsidized.
The whole intent is to hurt the public schools. I have talked with many voucher liberals. While publicly other things may be said, the intended long-term outcome is for the public schools to be nonexistent.
They definitely will hurt the public schools, in more ways than one, though I am trying to prevent that in my own area.
We can all work together to make quality schools. The first step would be a change in attitude.
Give local schools more autonomy and bring things more into local control rather than be at the mercies of state and national bureaucrats. Let's ALL work together to make EVERY school a choice school so that ALL can compete with each other. Loading up regulations on one side and providing free reign on the other doesn't do that.
Comment number 3 actually does provide for some possible consequences of vouchers.
In my own estimation, if you have had the "choice" to have a child, and ESPECIALLY if you have had that choice multiple times, you better not come complaining to me about vouchers and not having "choice." You have been given the greatest privilege in the world--that of being a parent. Deal with it. You already have the choice on how to raise that child. I would LOVE to have that choice. I years every day to have that choice. But I'm going to do the best I can to work towards that and to serve others in the meantime.
Don't come whining to me or people that have lost a child to a terminal illness and such and say that we have to pay for your personal choice because you're so hard up. My parents had kids stuck in hard schools (inner city ones--including now), but they determined that no matter what their kids would get a good education. That's how it is among my relatives and how it's been for generations. No matter what, we have all been expected to get our butts in school and learn something and then to do well in life afterwards.
When I finally have that "choice" of being able to raise my own child, I'm not going to start whining about having some lack of "choice.' I'm going to be on my knees every day thanking God for giving me such a miracle.
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