Show Voucher issue t An Anne e. e Roper Contributing Writer Referendum 1 is one of the most talked about issues on ori the ballot this year and it isn't likely to have many fence sitters The referendum would establish a scholarship program for qualifying school-age school children who newly enroll in ineligible ineligible ineligible eligible private schools and lower income school-age school children who continue their enrollment in eligible private schools according to the Voter Information Packet The scholarship amounts range from to The amount is decided by the size and income of the family For example a household income o of I O Oa a year could provide a a a stu nt with a scholarship of in n a household of 2 or up to 27 2750 0 for a household of 8 Referendum 1 Continued on t Referendum 1 Continued from A l I ISo So what makes a achild achild achild child qualify a private school eligible and and k wh t col v ulo lower lower r rin in income me To qualify a student must be born after Sept I 1 2001 not be a Utah resident on Jan 1 2007 be enrolled in a Utah public school on Jan 1 2007 or be in a lower income family A private school is considered eligible when it meets financial stability requirements hires teachers teachers' with special expertise or at least some form of college degree requires students to take academic achievement tests complies with local and federal laws and has at least 40 students A private school is allowed to choose what values will be bc taught to the students whether they be religious cultural or political However the thc qualifications for lower income are arc not as clear- clear cut Household incomes y can range ang from t t 0 to 19 to 8 persons persons I certainly dont don't consider a household income of S to be bc lower income with only 2 persons The money should be proportionally allotted or not given at all said Dawna Mitchell a public middle school teacher The public school system is what made this country great Much of the fight over the referendum has to do with cost per student Utah spends the thc least per student than any other state but despite that statistic Utah's public schools excel in performance and remain in inthe inthe inthe the top 10 for graduation Utah is also one of pf seven in the nation to receive an A grade for college preparation If passed the referendum would cost the thc state 5 l million dur during lg the the programs program's s 's first year ear and d 71 million during the programs program's thirteenth year according to an estimate bythe by bythe the thc office of the legislative fiscal analyst This is the thc first referendum to be voted on in the state of Utah since 1974 It requires only a simple majority vote to pass and be brought into effect More information on Referendum 1 can be bc found in the thc Utah Voter Information Packet Local debates on Referendum 1 I Iare are being eing held in various places around the state k om l a aJ J |