Utah saying 'no' to school vouchers

SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Voters in Utah appeared to have overwhelmingly rejected what would have been the nation's broadest school voucher program Tuesday.

With more than half of all precincts counted, the referendum was going down to defeat 65 percent to 35 percent, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. The ballot issue was failing in every county in the state, the newspaper said.

The referendum called for offering tax-supported vouchers of $500 to $3,000 for each newly enrolled private school student, depending on family income but with no upper income limit. The program would have been phased in over 13 years.

"We would expect Salt Lake County and the city would be a big place (against vouchers)," said State School Board Chairman Kim Burningham, who opposes vouchers. "But rural areas are rejecting it too."

The voucher program, supported by Republican leaders, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and business groups, narrowly passed in the Legislature. But voucher opponents, led by the state's teachers union, gathered 124,000 signatures to force the voter referendum.