View of the audience during the conference.

The Center for the Study of Government at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs held its first event of the 2003-2004 academic year, School Vouchers: The Big Picture conference. The event took place on Saturday, September 6, 2003.  An open dialogue of a broad range of perspectives on school vouchers was discussed in series of three panels of speakers and a luncheon speaker.

John Gardner, voucher system advocate and former school board member from the Milwaukee Public Schools opened the conference by offering the benefits and some downfalls of the oldest school voucher system, in place since 1990.  Brenda Coffey, President of the Harrison Community Education Foundation spoke about downfalls of the Milwaukee system and highlighted differences between that program and the recently passed House Bill 03-1160 in Colorado, and how such legislation is likely to affect local schools in Colorado Springs.   Colorado House Representative Michael Merrifield also highlighted downfalls of the Milwaukee program.  Colorado Senator John Evans spoke about the provisions to Senate Bill 03-99, which he introduced to the Sixty-forth Colorado General Assembly in 2003.  Steve Schuck, a local businessman, former schoolteacher and founder of Parent’s Challenge- a voucher system advocate, explained the scholarships and services offered by the organization.

The lunch speaker, Dr. Kevin Welner from the University of Colorado in Boulder discussed legal and policy implications to school vouchers and related tax credits generally and addressed specific problems facing House Bill 03-1160 in its implementation.

Dr. Jim Null presents legislative panelists.

The third presentation was a legislative panel.  Senator Ed Jones gavean impassioned speech about the plight of students stuck in poor performing schools and highlighted some of the obstacles he faced in his efforts to get Senate Bill 03-77 signed into law.  House Majority Leader, Keith King explained the differences between school vouchers and related tax credit legislation.  He also presented the provisions of House Bill 03-1137, his tax credit bill and Nancy Spence’s House Bill 03-1160, which was signed into law earlier this year.  Representative Merrifield highlighted potential problems with this legislation.

The final panel of speakers included Ms. Beverly Ausfahl, past President of the Colorado Education Association, the Pueblo Education Association and former schoolteacher.  She gave an energetic presentation of some of the downfalls and weaknesses to House Bill 03-1160.  The remainder of the panel was dedicated to providing a round-table for discussion between some of the participants to include Representative Merrifield, Ms. Brenda Coffey, John Gardner, and Dr. Kevin Welner.

The consensus at the round table by the end of the day was that all of those who are passionate about school vouchers are passionate about educating children.  The difference lies only in the means to achieving the same goal of leaving no child behind.