Utah students thrive when they have skilled teachers committed to their success and parents empowered to do what’s best for them. HB215, Funding for Teacher Salaries and Optional Education Opportunities, sponsored by Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, and Sen. Kirk Cullimore, R-Sandy, strengthens both of those elements by significantly increasing teacher pay and giving parents more choices about how and where their children are taught.
Utah is fortunate to have thousands of incredible educators, but we cannot ignore the fact that 42% of Utah teachers leave the profession within their first five years. By increasing teacher pay, we can make a teaching career more desirable and benefit our kids by allowing good teachers to do what they do best, teach.
Over the past three years, the Legislature has made record investments in education, even when the pandemic forced budget cuts across every other area of government. These investments add up to a $770 million increase in per pupil spending. That money is sent to individual school districts where decisions are made about how funds are used — including buildings, administration and teacher compensation.
Under HB215, $6,000 in additional compensation goes directly to every teacher in every district across the state. That amounts to the largest increase in teacher pay in Utah history.
And our teachers deserve it.
I have two sisters that are teachers and I see how hard they work and how much they care about their students. I know that countless other educators across the state are equally invested in the success of their students.
Increasing teacher pay is an investment in teachers and in our students. But it’s only half the equation. Empowering each student’s most invested advocates — their parents — is also essential.
No one understands a child’s needs better than a parent. So parents should be the ultimate decision-makers when it comes to finding the right school, teacher and learning style to fit their kids. It’s not uncommon to find a student brimming with potential, who just doesn’t fit in his or her school. Parents and teachers see their potential, but the education system just isn’t working for them.
HB215 addresses this by creating the Utah Fits All Scholarship, which is available for Utah students with every learning style. The Utah Fits All Scholarship empowers parents who feel their children would do better outside the traditional public school system by providing opportunities to learn in a way that makes sense for them.
Once again, public education will see a significant increase in funding this year in addition to the historic teacher raises in HB215. It’s critical to note that this scholarship represents less than 1% of Utah’s $7 billion public education budget. Over the past several years, the Legislature has built in protections for public education funding, including guaranteed minimums and increases tied to growth and inflation. This is simply an argument about abundance and a scarcity mentality doesn’t serve our students.
We can educate every student and empower parents to make informed choices about how their children are educated. Let’s provide all students and their parents — regardless of their ZIP code, wealth or abilities — the opportunity to learn in a way that makes sense for them because Utah Fits All.
Brad Wilson is the Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives.