Education functions best on as local a level as possible. Utah has been at the forefront of innovation in education. I support more parental choice in education to help alleviate the strain caused by robust population growth in our state, and will continue to advocate for our traditional public schools.  Some (not all) charter schools have been very successful because education and spending decisions are made at the school level with a lot of parental and stakeholder involvement. Our public school system can do better at this and help parents feel more like stakeholders in their own kids education.

We have large numbers of students and limited dollars for education spending in Utah, so we need to be especially innovative and efficient with our resources. We have done this successfully for many years, but demographic changes are adding to the educational challenges we face as a state.

Because increased funding for education is dependent upon growing state income tax revenue and increasing property values, it is ever more important that our economy continue to grow. By lowering tax rates, allowing for innovation and encouraging business growth and expansion through the alleviation of unnecessary regulation, we will be better able to fund our educational system.

We must do better to better manage education budgets to ensure funds are being spent wisely with a focus on better pay for teachers. We need to do all that we can to attract and retain the best teachers and ensure our classrooms are appropriately fitted and supplied. Minimizing federal control and federal dependency will actually strengthen our schools and allow educators to develop and utilize their craft of teaching and not be bound by federally mandated testing and uniform standards not fit for our unique Utah schools.