That should be important to voters who may be hesitant to authorize the state treasurer to invest money from the state's permanent school fund in private-company equities - stocks. That's what Amendment E would do, and as today's stock market dips and dives, that might not seem wise.

In fact, voters who have seen their own investments drop at a dizzying clip in recent months are right to question the prudence of Amendment E. But we hope these voters take the time to get their questions answered, and, if they do, we believe they will make the right choice and vote "yes."

The timing for Amendment E, with the U.S. financial markets in turmoil, couldn't be worse. But voters should take the long view. Seven percent of state retirement funds already are invested in private-company equities, and those funds have earned a 19 percent return over the past 15 years. The permanent school fund should be doing the same.

That's why both houses of the Utah Legislature approved it unanimously, Gov. Jon Huntsman endorses it and it has the support of the Constitutional Revision Commission; State Treasurer Ed Alter; the state Investment Advisory Committee, which advises the state treasurer; the State Board of Education; the School Children's Trust; and the Trust Lands Advisory Committee, which includes representatives of every major education group in the state.

Alter says private-equity stocks would be limited to a small percentage of the fund's total investments. While the treasurer has authority to make investment decisions, the Prudent Investor Rule sets limits, and the Investment Advisory Board and the State Board of Education act as watchdogs.

Smart investing includes diversification to receive the maximum return on public revenue. The permanent school trust fund has increased over the past 20 years from $18 million to almost $1 billion.

Passing Amendment E to remove the restriction on how the funds can be invested will do much to further improve the portfolio - and return - for Utah schools.