State Sen. Eric Johnson plans to make school choice a major issue next year:

Republican State Senator Eric Johnson plans to introduce legislation in January 2009 that would give each public school student a voucher equal to the money the state currently spends on his or her education. The voucher could be used for tuition at the parents' school of choice -- public, private or religious.

The system would force public grade schools to compete for students and teachers, much like America's institutions of higher learning.

"Foreign students flock to the United States for college and university education," Johnson said. "You don't see anybody knocking on the doors to send their child over here for primary or secondary education."
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Johnson's proposal would provide no funding to students already enrolled in private schools. He said the economic downtown requires the state to stay within existing public school budgets. But where the money goes would be up to parents.

This issue will resonate with the conservative base in 2010. Johnson could very well win the race for Lt. Governor because of it, despite what his critics may believe.