This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

A strange thing happened on the way to higher taxes for Granite School District patrons. Many of those facing bigger property tax bills thanked members of the school board for approving a $5 million increase.

But it's only strange if you take the view of many conservative members of the Utah Legislature. They say, and may actually believe, that Utahns would revolt if statewide taxes were raised specifically to improve public education.

And that attitude is what's really strange. Survey after survey has shown that Utahns want better public schools and they understand that the embarrassingly low per-pupil and per-taxpayer investment in education in the Beehive State is harming the neighborhood schools they care about. Those surveyed have said they would support a tax increase if the money went to their public schools.

Still, legislators appear not to hear or understand. They passed a voucher law in 2007 that would have siphoned taxpayer money to private schools. It was soundly defeated in a statewide referendum. Now Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, and some of his like-minded colleagues want to bring back a similar proposal, calling it tuition tax credits instead of vouchers.

Stephenson's proposal, which he expects to introduce as a bill in the 2012 legislative session, would give income tax credits to businesses or individuals for funding "scholarships" that would pay a student's tuition at a private school. The tax credits would reduce the amount of money available for public schools, since all money paid in income taxes goes to fund public and higher education.

Stephenson counters that schools would keep some of the money now allocated on a per-pupil basis for those who qualified for the "scholarships," but he ignores the reality that decreasing enrollment by a few does not sufficiently decrease the major expenses of education — buildings, equipment and personnel — to make up the money lost.

What does seem strange is the hard-wired attitude of conservative legislators who are determined to somehow privatize education, regardless of what their constituents want.

If those legislators, including Stephenson, would put the same time and effort into crafting laws and allocating money to improve public schools that they devote to trying to send Utah taxpayers' money to private schools, Utah schoolchildren would greatly benefit.

The fact is, Utahns want their tax money to pay for public schools. Why is that so hard for some legislators to understand?