This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Re efforts to increase education funding by limiting personal income tax exemptions (SB118) ("Senate panel OKs bill requiring big families to pay more for schools," Tribune, Feb. 10):
The way the current tax system in Utah is structured, the people who utilize the education system the most (large families) pay the least to support that system.
While I respect all families' choice to determine their ideal family size, the truth of the matter is that with more children comes a higher cost to educate them. More teachers, more classrooms, more buildings, etc.
Imagine if a family decreased the amount of money they spent on food with each additional child. The math simply wouldn't add up. No parent would do that because it would mean starving their children, and yet, the current funding structure starves the education system of the resources needed to accomplish the critical task of ensuring every child reaches their potential.
High-quality education benefits the entire society, which is why everyone's taxes (parents and non-parents alike) help pay for it. Let's make sure that together we feed kids enough to enable them to thrive.
Karen Van Winkle
Salt Lake City