President’s Message

By Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh, UEA President

I am honored to represent the tremendous teachers of Utah as president of the Utah Education Association. I look forward to participating in conversations that engage and value classroom teachers, as the experts, in creating a great public school for every child.

Utah’s future depends on preparing students with the skills they need to survive in the 21st Century. This requires world-class academic standards and a curriculum that fosters critical thinking, problem solving and the innovative use of knowledge to prepare students for college and the competitive career field.

I’m not alone when I suggest that education should be our state’s top priority. In poll after poll after poll, Utah citizens consistently rank education as their number one concern. I am distressed when I see funding for our schools eroded as Utah and the rest of the world fight through the current recession. May I suggest (and the research backs this up) that the best way to address the struggling economy, while also addressing the top priority expressed by Utah citizens, is to invest in education. Here’s why:

First, investing in public education immediately stimulates the economy in nearly every community in the state. Nearly 90 percent of Utah’s public education budget is spent on payroll. As we invest in Utah’s school system, jobs are created for teachers and staff in both urban and rural areas. These school employees don’t send their money to offshore accounts. They spend their payroll checks on shoes and groceries, supporting local businesses and playing a major role in assisting an economic recovery.

Second, when looking to relocate or expand, the top reason businesses give for choosing one city over another is education. Businesses want to operate where they can find a qualified pool of trained employees. Like it or not, companies consider a state’s per-pupil education spending. If spending is low as it is here in Utah, they assume they will be unable to find the most qualified workers. With per-pupil spending ranked dead last ($4,000 below the national average and nearly $1,000 below the next closest state), companies would be unlikely to locate or expand in Utah based on that measure alone. A study on the subject of business relocation goes on to say “tax incentives and tax packages are uniformly viewed as low priorities by location consultants, relatively unimportant to the basic decision.”

Third, Utah taxpayers get more “bang for their buck” by investing in education than any other place they can spend their money. A study from the World Bank reveals that a taxpayer’s return on investment in public education exceeds returns generated by the stock market. The study shows that over 10 years, the long-term return on common stocks was 6.3 percent, while the public return on investment in education was 14.3 percent.

I encourage everyone to visit UtahsFuture.org to learn more.