I’d like to alert the public that the bill labeled “Hope Scholarship” is designed to divert money from public education to private schools and home schools. What’s the problem, you ask?
Public education funds are designed for public education. Private schools and home schools wish to escape curriculum requirements and transparency by leaving the public education system, and they are allowed to do so. But they can’t receive public funding as a result. They have traded no funding for more freedom. They can’t keep their academic freedom and no accountability if they wish to have funding.
Further, this scholarship, meant to give more “choice,” excludes 86,000 special education students. There is only exclusion and despair for these students.
Don’t be duped: The subsidy — let’s call a cat a cat — will benefit 1% of Utah students, often wealthy, while leaving the 99% to despair.
To top it off, the bill gives twice as much to educate the same student as public education does.
I agree that more money is needed to educate our students, so that we can support our educators and reduce class sizes. Let’s give hope to all Utah students and not to a mere few.
France Barral
Millcreek