Several years of pandemic restrictions and curriculum battles have emboldened longtime advocates of funneling public funds to private and religious schools in statehouses throughout the country.
Utah Education Association’s Policy and Research Director Jay Blain said voters should look for someone who is both willing to listen to the public and work collaboratively with other board members and the school district.
Some Utah schools used federal COVID-19 relief funds to hire more staff to help students recover from the pandemic, academically and emotionally. But schools will have to find long-term funding if they want to keep the extra staff after the one-time federal funding ends in a couple of years.
“I would say all teachers use their own money at some point,” said Utah Education Association President Renée Pinkney. “I know that a lot of elementary teachers, they spend an awful lot of their own money.”
The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is now the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services. It is now taking a service-oriented approach to support all Utah residents.