The UEA believes a greater investment should be made in public education in order to provide for the basic funding needs, which may include the need to increase local and state option taxes. (Question from Utah Education Association)

Funding will always be an issue in education.  This is because some people believe the more money you spend the better quality you receive.  This is a not always a true statement! Neither is the opposite or converse statement.  The less money you spend equals less quality.   We should be more concerned with the value we receive in education.  We need to take the funding that has been appropriated to education and ensure there is no waste.  We must be responsible with the money that tax payers have entrusted with us and guarantee that the maximum amount possible benefits each student.  We can do this by not treating a budget line item as an “entitlement”.  We need to continually review how money is spent and search for creative ways to make it stretch further and not be afraid to make hard decisions that eliminate waist.   By looking at the current students and their needs we can make more fiscally appropriate spending decisions. Raising taxes should be a last option.