This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Polls show that the majority of Utahns are willing to pay higher taxes to support better education, yet the Utah Legislature, controlled by the Republican Party, has for two decades consistently voted to reduce funding for K-12. Vicki Rasely asks, "Who keeps voting for these people?" ("Funding dearth," Forum, July 7) Who indeed? That is the elephant in the schoolroom.
That elephant is Mormon voters. Over the past 30 years, Mormon culture seems to have changed such that it has become socially unacceptable to vote for a Democrat, no matter how conservative. This has guaranteed Republicans' re-election, regardless of how they vote. Against voters' wishes, they have consistently voted to defund education, and voters have repeatedly re-elected them anyway.
Education in Utah can improve only if Mormon parents and grandparents work up the gumption to vote for conservative Democrats who support better education funding. Democrats know that their re-election depends on voting according to their constituents' wishes, something that has not troubled Republicans for many years now.
Next year Utah voters will have another opportunity to change things. Will you vote for better education, or will you once again vote to continue defunding it?
Brooke Jennings
Salt Lake City