SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, the Democratic candidate for governor, said Monday the state needs to replace its "Band-Aid" approach to public education with a long-term plan.
In a kindergarten classroom at Dilworth Elementary School, Corroon released his proposal for "bringing our schools into the 21st century," the latest in a series of policy papers intended to showcase how he would be a better leader for the state than GOP Gov. Gary Herbert.
"You can't talk about Utah's well-being without putting education first," Corroon said.
Yet, while the state has a plan for transportation projects well into the future that spell out funding sources, his proposal noted Utah's schools lag behind much of the rest of the country.
It will take more than money to improve education, Corroon said. Among his proposed fixes are recruiting college students to serve as reading volunteers, urging businesses to adopt schools and provide summer jobs to science and math teachers, paying teachers more for serving in underperforming schools, using technology to expand options in rural schools and allowing voters to choose candidates for the Utah State Board of Education.
Still, Utah's public schools are underfunded, the mayor said, calling budget cuts by the 2010 Legislature "shameful." But Corroon offered no specifics about boosting funding beyond calling for an end to some unspecified corporate income tax breaks.
He said repeatedly his proposal did not include a tax increase. That could change, however, as a long-term plan is developed. Corroon said the discussion likely will center on a combination of income, property and sales tax adjustments.
Herbert said in a statement that ending corporate incentives for companies to relocate in the state "would be nothing more than a tax hike waiting to happen."
The governor also said Corroon's support for public schools "borders on the hypocritical" because the mayor attended private schools and is sending his children to them, as well.
"How can someone who has never had firsthand experience with public education understand how it really works?" Herbert asked, noting his children and grandchildren are products of the public school system.
Corroon's campaign spokeswoman, Stella Thurkill, said the mayor's children attend the Catholic Madeleine Choir School in Salt Lake City.
"The mayor and his wife send their kids to the neighborhood school, which is part of their church and an important part of their faith," Thurkill said. "It appears Gov. Herbert is trying to deflect the real attention from some of the facts. Utah schools are underfunded, 11,000 new students are not funded and graduation rates are falling. The fact of the matter is, here in Utah, we rank last in education."
Corroon is hosting a virtual town hall discussion at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to discuss his education proposal. Utahns who want to participate can contact Donnie Johnson at donnie@votecorroon.com for information.
Herbert and Corroon will face off in the special gubernatorial election in November for the remaining two years of former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s term. Huntsman resigned last year to become the U.S. ambassador to China and was succeeded by Herbert, his lieutenant governor.
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