tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25646979.post6342492212343606756..comments2024-01-01T15:35:12.954-07:00Comments on Simple Utah Mormon Politics: A Compromise to Combat the Utah Public School Teacher ShortageFrank Stahelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01822334061980912687noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25646979.post-45526250026096428212007-08-21T22:11:00.000-06:002007-08-21T22:11:00.000-06:00Jeremy,Time will tell. What I'm surprised at is t...Jeremy,<BR/><BR/>Time will tell. What I'm surprised at is that the anti-voucher crowd doesn't want to let time tell the tale. You're right--we'll need thousands to avail themselves of the opportunity for it to be worth it; if no one chooses to do it, then there is no harm, no foul. Why aren't you willing to at least let history play itself out?<BR/><BR/>As regards administrative costs--I don't know. I included the comment from the DesNews in my article as an example of what some people think. I would like to know, however, if every district can equal Granite in offering new teachers $30k to start; if they can't, this says something about their administrative costs.<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure why you're worried about the freeloaders, either. Yes, it will be a drain, but the whole point is about choice in education. In a perfect world, every family would pay every dime for their own children's education. But since this world is far from perfect, we subsidize each other. Why should someone who has home schooled, for example, not be allowed to use part of that subsidy to go to a private school? If they decided to go to a public school, they'd be using an even bigger subsidy. <BR/><BR/>I agree with Reach that we should let the market run its course. I think that the $500 - $3,000 subsidy that each child gets won't cover the entire cost of a private school (I don't think it was ever intended to), but it will put a lot of people a lot closer to being able to afford it. And if they do, the choice and variety will be a great thing for everyone.Frank Stahelihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01822334061980912687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25646979.post-45688444510442469312007-08-21T20:21:00.000-06:002007-08-21T20:21:00.000-06:00Reach,I'm not arguing that there isn't enough supp...Reach,<BR/><BR/>I'm not arguing that there isn't enough supply of private school student slots. I'm arguing that there currently isn't enough demand and that vouchers don't seem likely to change that...especially under the current plan. <BR/><BR/>As voucher amounts go up I'd assume demand will too...Of course that would also mean that we'd need a lot more voucher adopters to make the voucher plan save enough to make up for the freeloaders (voucher children from families which never would have put their kids in public schools in the first place).Jeremyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15775127589033724985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25646979.post-38344754710679463592007-08-21T20:00:00.000-06:002007-08-21T20:00:00.000-06:00I don't care if Utah's administrative expense is "...I don't care if Utah's administrative expense is "in line" with other states. Keeping up with the Jonses that are also administratively top heavy is hardly a formuly for successful education. And education outcomes bear this out.<BR/><BR/>Jeremy assumes that the number of private schools will remain static or will remain low if vouchers are implemented. This has not been the case in any place that has implemented vouchers. The private market responds and private school choices expand to meet the growing demand. Why should Utah's experience be any different?Scott Hinrichshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11831447472339880148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25646979.post-76713001422421947662007-08-20T22:05:00.000-06:002007-08-20T22:05:00.000-06:00Besides the comment you found that was posted to t...Besides the comment you found that was posted to the Deseret News story what evidence do you have that Utah's administrative costs are out of line with classroom instruction costs? Last I heard Utah had lower administration costs in our public education system than any other state in the nation. <BR/><BR/>Why do you think vouchers will help with the teacher shortage? You weren't very specific in your assertion about how choice will create more excellence and therefore better paid teachers. <BR/><BR/>In order for vouchers to work in Utah we will need thousands of parents to decide private schools are worth the massive out of pocket expenses they will cost even with the help of a voucher. Since our state currently has a lower percentage of students in private schools than nearly any other state in the country I wonder why you assume this will happen. I could understand if you were making your unfounded assertions in a state where people are clearly unhappy with their public schools but that doesn't seem to apply here. If vouchers end up costing taxpayers more than they save because not enough adopters come forth to balance out the voucher students who never would have gone to public school in the first place how will we fulfill your first solution to the teacher shortage problem? Raise taxes?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com