Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

I am an education advocate. For me, nothing compares to the joy of learning. I hope that every child in Utah experiences that spark frequently in classrooms across the state. Without question, teachers deserve to be well compensated for their hard work and long hours. I do not think that money spent on teachers' salaries is ever wasted. A salary is a statement of our respect and admiration for the work teachers do.

Resources are wasted, however, in administrative costs and in technology overload (you don't really need much tech in an English or history classroom, for example) and on astroturf football fields ($3 million each!) and on rotundas for high schools (Copper Canyon), etc. I think schools need to re-evaluate where money is spent and whether or not it contributes to the core mission, which is educating children and preparing them for the future.

Utah has one of the lowest costs per pupil in the nation (if you do not figure in teachers' benefits, Utah has the lowest per pupil cost of all 50 states), yet it ranks 3rd (according to U.S. News & World Report) in educating children. That's a fantastic return on our investment as taxpayers. I'd like to allocate financial resources differently so that we can support teachers better.

I see education and education funding as two different, but related, issues. Education was not always this expensive. One of Utah's greatest assets (its birthrate) is also one of its greatest challenges, because new schools have to be built to accommodate our growing population, and schools are expensive.

One bright light on the horizon is PILT (payment in lieu of taxes), which is the money the federal government is supposed to pay the State of Utah for lands they hold within our borders. Last year they only paid Utah about a dollar an acre -- a dollar! -- but if Utah had been able to place homes and businesses on that land (fully 2/3rds of the state) we would have benefitted from property taxes and sales taxes, etc. on those parcels. Our state legislature is working to hold the federal government's feet to the fire on this issue. Our schools would benefit tremendously from that money.

At a national legislative conference this summer I learned that all students in the Baltic state of Estonia learn how to code. It is treated as a language there, and tech companies are coming to Estonia in droves to set up shop and take advantage of their highly skilled workforce. If Utah were to require more than basic computer literacy, it would be great for our economy going forward. Students of both genders would discover new talents they didn't know they had, talents that will make them sought- after employees.

I will never vote to remove arts education from schools, because students benefit intellectually and socially when they take classes in the arts. STEM education is important, but we have to keep the arts component (STEAM) in order to offer a truly well-rounded education for lifelong learning.

I like the idea of competency-based learning (testing out of a subject when you demonstrate a mastery of it, so that you can move on to the next graduation requirement without having to wait for some arbitrary transition deadline like the end of the school year.) For higher education, I like stackable credentials, which allow people to alter and refine their career choices without starting over at square one. It would be fantastic if every student graduating from high school in Utah were certified with an employable skill or trade.

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