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Posted: 8:02 PM- Now that municipal primary elections are over, the statewide school voucher referendum fight begins in earnest, with money flooding in.
The National Education Association reported Friday that it has donated $1.5 million in the past three weeks to its Utah affiliate to spend in the anti-voucher campaign.
But on the other side, the national group All Children Matter reported zero spending on the Utah election so far. That organization pumped $240,000 into Utah elections last year, helping elect legislators who passed the voucher law.
A spokesman for the local pro-voucher group, Parents for Choice in Education, estimated it has raised less than $500,000 so far for the referendum. But those figures are still being compiled and will be filed by Monday's disclosure deadline.
"We see what's coming," said Parents for Choice in Education spokeswoman Leah Barker, predicting the anti-voucher side will far outspend their opponents. She claimed the NEA has committed $3 million to fight Utah vouchers.
Utah Education Association Executive Director Susan Kuziak says the $3 million figure is speculative.
"Do I think we'll get additional help? Yes," Kuziak said. "Do I know what the absolute amount will be? No.
"They've committed to help us as much as they can."
She said the UEA has so far spent $1 million of the NEA's $1.5 million donation. Earlier this week the anti-voucher group Utahns for Public Schools announced its launch of two TV ads. One is aimed at revealing what it calls "the hidden truths" and "flaws" of vouchers and a second has the theme of "an experiment gone wrong."
Barker said the teachers' unions know they need to outspend voucher supporters "to convince parents they're not smart enough to choose a good school for their kids."
Barker's group sent out a newsletter this week that referred to the claimed $3 million NEA pledge as "3 million pieces of silver," an apparent biblical reference. It painted the money as an attempt to "try and buy an election to take . . . rights away from Utah families."
Most polls have shown Utahns oppose vouchers, but Barker claims that is changing as the Nov. 6 referendum nears.
"We're seeing a huge shift in attitude in the community, everywhere we go," she said. "People are really excited about this."
Parents for Choice in Education just launched TV ads Friday, Barker said, adding that radio ads that have been running were funded by a concerned citizen, "who wanted to remain anonymous."
State law requires all groups paying for the referendum campaign, on both sides, to file financial disclosures by Monday's deadline.