The United States has the best higher-education system in the world because of the competition involved among the students and faculty and in obtaining funding for the institutions. This model of competition needs to be imitated on the local level in order to improve the status of Utah’s public school system.
This was one of several recommendations expressed by the chairperson of the Utah Republican Party,
Joe Cannon, who debated with Donald Dunn, chairperson of the Utah Democratic Party, in the Hinckley Institute of Politics on Tuesday morning.
The two agreed that the mediocrity of Utah’s education system is the No. 1 issue among local concerns-“by a very substantial margin,” Cannon added.
Cannon referred back to the issue of competition, suggesting that there needs to be more of it in public education and added, “Whatever the answer to our mediocre quality of education is, it’s not the system we have today.”
Cannon elaborated on his point, relating a story about his own children who felt like they had taken a step back by at least one or two grade levels when they came to Utah from Fairfax County, Va.
Dunn agreed, saying that the current local system could use some reform, but he placed the majority of the blame on the disagreements between the state Legislature and the governor.
“We need a change in leadership,” he said. “The current system is not working, and it’s time for a Democrat to be governor.”
Cannon spent the majority of the debate focusing on reforming the education system through interacting with individuals rather than analyzing test scores.
A recurring theme that Cannon frequently stated in his arguments was, “We need to put everything on the table.”
Dunn concentrated on reforming the education system through funding, asserting the theme, “We need to put our money where our mouths are.”
Dunn says he believes that the local education system needs to be jump-started to propel it to No. 1 in the nation rather than settling for mediocrity.
“We need to ask, ‘What are our priorities?'” Dunn said. “We’re losing to economic development and we rank dead last on what we spend on our kids.”
Cannon disagreed with Dunn’s focus on the financial aspects of the issue, but did side with Dunn on the importance of moving up from mediocrity to excellence.
“Utah spends 65 percent of the budget on public and higher education-that coming from a state that just went up from ninth to seventh as the highest taxed state,” he said.
Cannon articulated his argument by focusing on the District of Columbia, where the per-pupil expenditure exceeds that of any other location in the country, but still manages to finish dead last in test scores.
“There is no question that more money helps,” Cannon said. “But we need to look at the outputs and see what the education system produces. Why not have the best education rather than slightly above the mean?”
