The teachers' union made its point Tuesday, and now teachers can get back to doing what they're supposed to do — educate Utah's children.
Despite the fact that 51 percent of Utahns surveyed strongly supported or somewhat supported the one-day strike, it's doubtful the walkout led to any long-term gains. What, exactly, did teachers accomplish? They undoubtedly created hardships for some single parents and for those families with two working parents. One also assumes they wanted to catch the attention of state lawmakers, but, of course, the Legislature won't be in session for another month.
The union even had a tough time convincing its own members about the appropriateness of the walkout. Thirteen of the state's 40 school districts declined to participate in Tuesday's strike, including Granite, the second-largest school district in the state. Teachers in the Granite District staged a one-day strike earlier this year.
Teachers aren't the only ones frustrated by the wrangling over education dollars. Many of Utah's lawmakers are as well, though not for the same reasons.
Utah lawmakers demonstrated they are concerned about teachers' needs by increasing the basic school funding formula by 5.5 percent during the last legislative session. Maybe they could have done more, but this represented a substantial improvement over previous years. They now must be wondering what difference it makes whether they increase school funding by 2 percent or 5.5 percent. Either way, teachers either threaten or carry out job actions.
Utah's education problems are large and complex. To solve them, teachers and lawmakers will have to rely on hard work and creative thinking. Because Utah is a state with large families, education demands are great. Utahns spend a larger percentage of their incomes in school-related taxes than residents in virtually any other state. To simply tax and spend more is not a viable long-term solution, and a one-day job action tends to trivialize the enormity of the situation.
Utah Education Association officials need to be realistic about funding given Utah's unique family dynamics. They need to work together with lawmakers to find long-term solutions to a very complex problem.