Public Education in Utah

No function of government is more important than public education. The Utah State Legislature should reduce bureaucratic mandates and let local schools and school districts govern themselves. Kraig supports funding for increasing teacher salaries and reducing class sizes in order to strengthen the quality of Utah’s public education system.

Public Education Policies

Surveys consistently show that K through 12 public education is one of the issues most important to Utah voters. In the past two legislative sessions, significant budget surpluses have allowed the Utah Legislature to increase funding for public schools. In 2007, teachers were given a pay raise of $2,500.

Although a mathematical miscalculation prevented many school districts from awarding the full $2,500 in 2007, the 2008 Legislature appropriated an additional $22 million to correct the shortfall, and then added a new raise of $1,500 for all teachers on top of that. Governor Huntsman has committed to continue raising salaries over the next three years to make Utah teacher pay meet or exceed the national average.

I strongly support this effort and believe that adequately compensating teachers is one of the best ways to improve the quality of public education. As wise Republicans have often pointed out, however, it is not possible to solve all of Utah's education problems by simply providing more and more money year in and year out. We will not always enjoy strong economic times. Already, 100% of Utahns' income tax goes to fund public education, and a majority of our property tax does as well.

This year, the Legislature passed a 2.5 percent increase in per-pupil spending (WPU), to add to the much-needed 4 percent increase it gave last year. But a new report released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that Utah continues to rank dead least among all 50 states in per-pupil spending at $5,437 per student, more than $1,000 per student behind the second-lowest state, Idaho. Due to Utah's highest-in the-nation proportion of school-age children, our state will continue to struggle to adequately fund public education, and there are no easy answers.

With this reality in mind, Utah public school teachers will need to be better, smarter and more creative at doing their jobs than teachers in other states. I believe that the best thing the Legislature can do to encourage effective, efficient teaching and learning is actually to pass fewer laws and mandates at the state level. Fortunately, Utah teachers have shown that when they are allowed to do their jobs, and are valued and fairly compensated by the citizens of our state, they and their students can outperform residents of other states with larger budgets.

The performance pay plan for teachers and the option for an extended contract year with increased salaries for math and science instructors passed by the 2008 Legislature are, in my view, some simple and productive steps toward more effective instruction which will allow some of the most outstanding teachers in each school to use their talents to produce noteworthy and innovative outcomes in their students.

Another resource with enormous potential for strengthening public education is the School Trust Lands located throughout the state. The Legislature needs to ensure that the ever-increasing revenue produced from these lands continues to be available for local schools and districts to use to meet their funding needs. Consistent with the above philosophy, I also oppose further intervention from the federal government in local schools and districts. I believe the No Child Left Behind Act was a well-meaning program that nevertheless fails to respect the absolute necessity for decentralization and local control in public education.

K through 12 schools were never meant to be a federal responsibility. We must re-empower students, teachers and parents to take back ownership of their local schools and assume accountability for their own education. The best way the Utah Legislature can do that is usually to get out of the way and let citizens work together in their own neighborhoods and school districts to provide children with the knowledge and skills they need to prosper in our rapidly-changing world.