"Utah Voters Had Their Say"Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our coalition and volunteers, on November 6th Utah voters soundly rejected the flawed voucher law by a 62/38 margin statewide. Referendum 1 failed in every county in Utah — a clear signal that Utah voters want a meaningful investment in our public schools. "With the eyes of the nation upon us, Utah voters today made history by rejecting the flawed voucher law and sending a clear message: we believe in our public schools and want them supported," said Kim Campbell, President of the Utah Education Association. "We owe a debt of gratitude to our tireless teachers, parents and other volunteers who stood up for our children and our public schools. With Referendum 1 now behind us we look forward to working with Gov. Huntsman and the legislature on a pro-active agenda that invests in smaller class sizes, more teachers, and modern tools and resources." "Today, Utah voters had their say," said Rep. Sheryl Allen (R-Bountiful). "Our job in the legislature now is to listen to the voters and rededicate ourselves to investing in public schools." "As parents, looking forward, our goal should be to ensure that our schools have the resources they need to reduce class sizes and give our kids the one-on-one attention they deserve," said Marilyn Simister, President of the Utah PTA. "This has been a truly historic effort that included hundreds of volunteers in counties across Utah mobilizing to tell their friends and neighbors about this important issue and to gather signatures to put Referendum 1 on the ballot," said School Board Chairman Kim Burningham. "All of Utah should be proud of having participated in our democratic process and ensuring the will of the people will be the law of the land." |