I quite enjoyed last week’s joint meeting between the State Board of Education, the State Board of Regents, and many of our legislators. District officials, local school board members and concerned parents were there too. I found it more productive than other education summits for one simple reason: policy makers at multiple levels were able [...]
Tomorrow the legislature will likely cut our taxes. My response is somewhat mixed. I’ve listened to senators, representatives, and even the governor sell the plan. They do a bang up job, and each time I walk away being convinced it’s in the best interest of Utah. But when I stop to think it through, I’m [...]
Yesterday, an anonymous reader commented: EVERY voucher/tax credit proposal in Utah since 2002 or so has had a means-testing component to it so how can you say that the Utah Taxpayers Association’s comment bore only passing resemblance to previous legislation? It’s a fair question. Yes, tuition tax credit bills in the past few years have [...]
The Utah Foundation Breakfast last week was certainly interesting, but not terribly helpful. Half of the presenters were there primarily to push their political interests, some ignoring the purpose of the summit as I understood it. Paradox Lost If your keeping an eye on the public education debate in the state, you know that the [...]
I was chatting with a colleague when he ask why university enrollment was declining. My unresearched, off-the-cuff answer was, “The economy is doing well.” After spending some quality time with my good friend Google, I can more confidently say I’m partly right. Here’s a list of likely reasons; we’re not being hit with just one, [...]
Grant Harkness recently questioned the concept of paying math and science teachers more than their peers in other subject areas. His criticism centers around the perceived prioritization of math and science over English in the curriculum. His arguments misdiagnose the problem: it’s not that Math teachers are more important than English teachers. It’s that they’re [...]
I ended my last post asking, “Is public education the proper place for a solution?” It’s a bit of a loaded question. Certainly, public schools should teach what amount to basic life skills, right? Here in Utah, the Legislature has mandated basic financial education for high school students (Utah Code 53A-13-108). It happened partly because [...]
I’ve been involved in a national group studying financial literacy education in public schools. The statistics demonstrating the consumerism and indebtedness of the American public are astounding. It’s no wonder our federal government isn’t fiscally responsible–a good number of our citizens aren’t either. The Problem Americans carry about $800 billion in consumer debt. [1] At [...]
Yesterday, Provo voters approved both a bond and property tax leeway. (Daily Herald; Deseret News). I’m pleased. The proposed uses of the bond and leeway are reasonable. Also, I spoke with members of the Provo Board of Education and the district superintendent prior to the election, and am assured the bond is necessary. It was [...]
Rep. Steve Urquhart has published a piece focusing on the Governor’s veto of HB 151, which would have allowed higher education to charge students up to $30 per credit for concurrent enrollment ($90 for most courses). To define the discussion, concurrent enrollment (CE), means classes taken in the high school for which college credit may [...]
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