Why I'm Voting for Question 1

by YÁNDARY Z. CHATWIN

I’m not a teacher, but I work in public education and the opinions I share in this piece are my own. I’ve seen the impact that our legislature has on the day-to-day lives of Utah’s public school students and teachers. I can tell you that we have some of the world’s greatest teachers, but they are overworked and underpaid. We have bright students who are capable and eager to learn, but our school districts lack the funding to keep class sizes reasonable and to provide students with the resources they need to reach their full potential. Our elected leaders care deeply about public education, but they’ve failed year after year to find a way to adequately fund our schools. This election, we, as voters, have the opportunity to do something about it by voting FOR Nonbinding Opinion Question 1.

Nonbinding Opinion Question 1, it’s a weird name for such an important part of our ballot. Let me share a little about what voting for Question 1 actually means. The fact that this is a “nonbinding opinion question” means that the legislature is using this ballot initiative to get a pulse for what voters want. If voters weigh-in favorably (if Question 1 passes), the legislature still has to pass a bill, which the governor will then need to sign into law before the proposals in Question 1 will go into effect. You can find a copy of the draft legislation here. This is a working draft of the bill that the legislature could enact if Question 1 passes. Governor Herbert has endorsed Question 1.

Question 1 would raise the gas tax by 10 cents per gallon, which would cost the average Utah driver about $4 every month. The money generated from this gas tax increase will be used to fund K-12 education, higher education, and public roads, with 70% going to education. Of the funds going to education, 80% would go toward K-12 education, which means that 5.6 cents of the 10 cent gas tax increase per gallon will go to fund K-12 education. Why are we voting on something that combines education funding with funding for roads? The short answer is that Question 1 is part of a compromise that the legislature struck with a group called Our Schools Now. Our Schools Now had previously been pushing a much more aggressive ballot proposition to raise $700 million for education funding. In exchange for dropping their ballot measure, the legislature promised to increase funding for education by $350 million through a combination of income, property, and gas tax increases. The property and income tax adjustments have already been enacted. Question 1 is the one remaining part of this three-pronged compromise, which, if passed, will raise more than $100 million that will go directly to Utah schools. That’s why our vote FOR Question 1 this fall is so crucial.

Question 1 is not a perfect proposal. But if it passes, and the adjoining bill is enacted, Question 1 will generate more than $100 million in funding for Utah’s K-12 students. That money can only be used for expenses tied to student achievement and teacher success. That means the money generated from this proposal will not be used to pay for administrator salaries or to build new schools. Every penny will go directly into the classroom to benefit Utah students. The funds raised from Question 1 can be used to address our teacher shortage and reduce class sizes, to purchase school supplies, to buy better in-class resources and technology to help students succeed, to provide professional development for teachers, etc. Each school, working with their local school board, will decide how to spend the additional money, but all of it must be used inside the classroom to improve student achievement and teacher success. This local approach to determining how the funds are spent is key. Every K-12 school will receive around $150 per student every year. You can use this online tool to see how your neighborhood school will be impacted.

This $100 million+ in funding is urgently needed in our schools. Utah ranks at the very bottom, nationally, in terms of per student spending. Every year, we lose hundreds of Utah teachers to other professions, due, in part, to the low teacher salaries in Utah. (Utah ranks sixth lowest in the nation for teacher salaries.) An alarming 50% of Utah teachers leave the profession within their first five years, according to the Utah Education Policy Center, which leaves schools strapped to find quality educators for our students. This leads to larger class sizes, where teachers’ attention is more divided and students are less likely to get the one-on-one interactions that make such a difference in their learning. Our student to teacher ratio is the third highest in the country. It is not unusual to see elementary school classes with more than 30 kids and secondary classes with more than 40 students. And all these factors impact student learning. Even if we figure out how to recruit quality teachers, we won’t be able to retain them without improving salaries, lowering class sizes, and expanding the resources we provide to both teachers and students.

Aside from the urgent need for money in our schools, another compelling reason to vote FOR Question 1 is: What other option do we have? One of the most crucial reasons I plan to vote FOR Question 1 is that there currently isn’t a better option to fund K-12 education in Utah. Sure, we can talk about possible legislative proposals for the next legislative session, but that route has no guarantees. (And hasn’t yielded dramatically different results in years past.) If Question 1 fails, our legislature will have no motivation to pass any proposals for additional educational funding. In a recent column in The Salt Lake Tribune, Senate President Wayne Niederhauser (who will retire before the next legislative session begins) acknowledged this is the case. When discussing the possibility of the legislature boosting education funding if Question 1 were to fail, he said, “They won’t. I guarantee it.” And he’s right. Why would our legislators vote for something they think the people don’t want?

If Question 1 fails, the message we will send to our legislators is that we, the people, don’t care about increasing funding for our schools. That we don’t care about properly compensating our teachers or making sure our students have the tools they need to succeed and be ready for life after high school. And if we don’t show them that we want more for our education system, nothing will ever change. Your vote FOR Question 1 is urgent and will shape the future of education in Utah for years to come.

Question 1 is the best hope we have right now to increase funding for our schools and improve learning opportunities for all Utah students. Voting FOR Question 1 shows the legislature that the people of Utah are committed to funding education and want to see the legislature take action. The consequences if Question 1 fails are too great, which is why it is so crucial that we vote FOR Question 1 this election.