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- Utahns for Student Success, backed by a nearly $400,000 contribution from the National Education Association, has launched a TV ad campaign opposing Amendment A.
- The amendment, on Utah's November ballot, aims to remove the constitutional mandate earmarking income tax revenues for public education, raising concerns about diverting funds to private school vouchers.
- Utah Education Association President Renée Pinkney and others argue the amendment could lead to larger class sizes and fewer teachers.
SALT LAKE CITY — Just days after reporting a nearly $400,000 contribution from the nation's largest teachers union, the Utah political issues committee fighting Amendment A on the November ballot hit the airwaves with a TV commercial.
More than $300,000 is being spent to air the new ad from Utahns for Student Success that describes the proposed constitutional amendment passed by state lawmakers in 2023 as an attempt to allow politicians "to pull off a power grab, taking funding away from our local public schools to fund vouchers for religious private schools instead."
The message is also appearing on cable channels, streaming services and yard signs, said Utah Education Association President Renée Pinkney, who also heads the coalition of a dozen organizations behind the political issues committee. The committee has raised more than $428,000, including $380,110 from the National Education Association, according to a Sept. 30 disclosure.
"This feels like this is an attack on public education in order to privatize schools," Pinkney said, adding that the campaign was "absolutely" about more than just the proposed constitutional amendment. "It is a reminder that vouchers are a threat to public schools."
No committee has been formed to campaign for Amendment A.
State Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, who sponsored the resolution that put the constitutional change on the ballot, was critical of the effort to turn voters against Amendment A and of the contribution from the national teachers union that's helping to cover the cost of the campaign.
"Clearly, the labor unions don't just want to shut down the ports; now they want to shut down Utah," McCay said, a reference to a now-suspended longshoremen's strike that closed ports on the East and Gulf Coasts for several days. "It's always interesting when outside money gets involved in Utah's budget."
Will Amendment A stay on the ballot?
The UEA is currently challenging Amendment A in court. The amendment would do away with the state constitutional mandate that income tax revenues can only be used for public schools, higher education and some social services programs. If approved by voters, a law removing the state's 1.75% share of sales taxes on food would be triggered.
Amendment A is likely to meet the same fate as another amendment on the general election ballot. The Utah Supreme court recently upheld voiding Amendment D, which would have given lawmakers the express power to change or repeal initiatives passed by voters, after opponents argued the ballot language was misleading and voter notifications weren't made.
The challenge to Amendment A, which makes the same claims, was added to a lawsuit filed in May by the teachers union to stop the state's new school voucher system, known as the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program. Over the past two years, lawmakers have allocated $82.5 million for the program that started this fall with 10,000 students receiving scholarships for private school.
The commercial underlines what the court challenge suggested is the real purpose for the amendment, removing "one of the Constitution's primary barriers to private school vouchers," stating that passage of Amendment A means "larger classes and fewer teachers at the school your children go to while more of your tax dollars go to schools they won't set foot in."
A hearing on Amendment A is set for Oct. 15, too late to take it off the ballot or stop votes from being counted if it is voided, although a court could order the results not to be released. Pinkney said the decision was made a week ago to go forward with the campaign.
"We're operating under the assumption that the constitutional Amendment A is still a go at this point," she said. "We are where we are. We can't second-guess the courts."
Why lawmakers say Amendment A is needed
Utah lawmakers have said the earmark on income tax revenues needs to be lifted to give them more flexibility in budgeting, citing what's seen as a budget imbalance between the state's two key revenue sources, income and sales taxes. Growth in sales tax revenues has lagged behind income tax collections as consumer spending shifts from goods to non-taxed services.
What was billed as a tax reform package that raised sales taxes on food, gas and some services while reducing income taxes was passed in a special legislative session in December 2019 but ended up being repealed a month later by lawmakers amid a voter referendum drive.
There's already talk of a voter referendum next year to repeal the voucher program, raised by Voices for Utah Children Executive Director Moe Hickey. Hickey said at the recent launch of Utahns for Student Success that he's already in discussions with national nonprofit groups about financial support for putting the program before voters.
In 2007, Utah voters overwhelmingly rejected a more sweeping school voucher program approved by the Utah Legislature. The national teachers union reportedly poured some $3 million into supporting that referendum campaign, which attracted national attention.
