Three years after it began, implementation of Utah's strategic plan for public education has "impediments so serious they could derail the strategic planning process unless they are understood and addressed," a progress report says.
And the companion effort to create a strategic plan for higher education has made disappointing progress to date, according to Gov. Mike Leavitt and other critics. The problems:
Public education
An analysis of how the Strategic Plan for Public Education, adopted two years ago, is progressing was done by the Western Institute for Research and Evaluation, Logan. The objectives of the strategic plan are to:
- Have 100 percent of all Utah students achieving the goals of individual education plans
- Prepare each student for productive employment and/or additional education
- Create a public education system that would set a standard worldwide
- Achieve the highest per-household income in America.
These objectives are seen by many to be so broad as to be unattainable, particularly given the resources available to do the job, the institute reported.
The review found that most of Utah's 40 district superintendents are aware of the plan, but more than a third said they had never actually seen it (even though the State Office of Education sent a copy to each superintendent).
Principals are less informed. Although 82 percent said they are aware of the plan and the legislation that was passed to implement it, only 25 percent could provide accurate information about its contents.
Teachers, who ultimately would become responsible for putting many of the elements of the strategic plan to work, were least informed. Only a small portion were aware of the plan, and they see such planning - if it is occurring at all - as part of a school effort, not a statewide initiative.
While a lot of strategic planning-type efforts are going on in Utah schools, much of it, the review noted, does not relate directly to the objectives of the plan adopted by the Legislature.
One of the most frequently cited impediments to fulfillment of the strategic planning vision is lack of funding, the institute reported.
"Given the absence of funding to accompany (the legislation's) requirements, it would seem unreasonable to expect already overburdened schools to undertake additional programs without additional resources to do so."
In nine recommendations to the State Office of Education, the institute suggests a greater effort to inform all of the vital education interests about the plan and develop mutual commitment to the purposes of the plan.
Associate State Superintendent Bruce Griffin, who has been assigned responsibility for implementation of the plan, said he agrees in general with the institute's findings. A greater effort will be made to disseminate the plan and to clarify it, he said.
The 1994 Legislature is expected to consider a package of bills related to the plan, including a proposal to tie the state's Centennial Schools more directly to the strategy and to provide inservice training for educators about the plan's objectives.
Higher education
Over the past year, a subcommittee of the Strategic Planning Task Force has been assigned to grapple with higher education issues, but no specific recommendations have yet emerged. In a recent meeting, the subcommittee did adopt a list of proposed strategies that now will be submitted to individual committees to create action plans.
The task force is expected to make recommendations to the 1995 Legislature, to address such sensitive issues as access, a learner-centered system, quality, accountability, governance, technology, financing and the roles of research and service in Utah's higher education institutions.
The process has not, to date, produced the results Leavitt wanted. "We're not making it yet," Leavitt said. "The process is not yet right."
Leavitt has often cited his involvement in the public education task force as a major impetus for his running for office. He envisions a "seamless" education system in Utah that allows every student to progress at his own rate through both public and higher education programs suited to his own needs.
The subcommittee has been slowed by canceled meetings, a change in the House chairmanship and foot-dragging on the part of a consultant hired to capsulize issues, said current House Chairman Kevin Garn, R-Layton.
Sen. Haven Barlow, R-Layton, Senate co-chairman, agreed that "higher education requires a different format. This hasn't been as successful. I'm quite disappointed. I thought it could be handled the same way, but things don't operate the same (in higher education as in public education)."
Barlow said he hopes the issues will be considered in a "no-holds-barred" environment that searches out the most viable solutions.
He admitted that consensus on such issues as governance may be difficult. "The best governance system might be to have one board for everything (rather than a public education board and a board of regents for higher education), but that may not be politically feasible. But I'd like to see the committees be very aggressive," he said.
Leavitt said he recognizes the challenge facing the task force subcommittee.
"They are coping with complicated, thorny issues," he said. "Often, the issues mean different things to different people."