Debates for the Utah State Board of Education continued this week, this time for Districts 13 and 15, reaching Provo, Spanish Fork, Mapleton and Springville, and St. George, Cedar City, Hurricane, Parowan, Enoch, Springdale, Enterprise, Lund, Beryl and Modena, Utah.

District 13 debate

On Tuesday Allyson Williams and Randy Boothe, candidates for District 13, shared with viewers their unique backgrounds.

Williams is a full-time mother of five and a part-time teacher with a degree in education from Brigham Young University. She has participated in community councils, parent review boards and independent research on student data and statewide assessments.

Boothe has taught at BYU for 43 years. He also sits on the Nebo School District board of education and the Board of Trustees for Mountainland Technical College.

Williams and Boothe addressed the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on statewide assessments this year. When asked if the state ought to resume those assessments after this year’s pause, Booth said, “If we were to resume them, we need to do a thorough review to make sure that they’re appropriately aligned with the Utah content, that they are taking only limited time away from instruction rather than days, and that they are utilized primarily for the purpose of informing instruction.”

In response to the assessment question, Williams said no. “I think we are too test-centric right now, and I think that we can improve on that. I’m not saying that there is no room for accountability, but I think we need to try something different.”

When asked about the need to update education and specifically to get rid of old textbooks in classrooms, Williams said, “I don’t think that there’s an inherent something better just because it’s modern or it’s technology. I think that really the quality of the content is what we need to focus on, whether it’s in a textbook, whether it’s online. I don’t think that just because something’s digital makes it automatically better.”

Boothe said that the teacher is key. He also said that with a “very careful framework of curricular review by parents, teachers and leaders of learning, we can arrive at the materials and the resources that will be most helpful and best practice for our students.”

Watch the entire debate here.

District 15 debate

On Wednesday Scott Smith, candidate in District 15, answered policy questions for voters alone. His opponent, Kristan Norton, declined the invitation to participate.

Smith discussed his eight-year experience on the state charter board – as well as chair of the board – and answered questions about the board’s relationship to the federal government, police in school, and the status of education choice in the state.

Many people believe that the federal role in education has become too invasive. When it comes to the federal role in education, Smith said, “I would love to see the Department of Education removed.”  

Because of the current political climate regarding police reform, Smith was asked if we need to reduce the number of student resource officers in schools right now. Smith said absolutely not. “Many horrific events … have been avoided because a resource officer within the school built a relationship of trust.”

Education choice continues to grow in the state – this year a scholarship program was passed for students with special needs. Smith was asked if we have enough choice in the state or if he’d like to see it increase. Smith said, “I don’t know if there’s ever enough choice. I think there should be opportunities for robust choice.” 

Watch the entire debate here.

Watch this week’s debate

For those who missed this week’s debates, you can access both of them here. You can find out what Utah State Board of Education district you reside in by typing in your address here.

The Utah State Board of Education is a key education policymaking entity in the state. For more information, check out Sutherland Institute’s FAQ on the state board.

The Utah Education Debate Coalition believes that voters deserve as much information as possible about the candidates that may represent them, which is why such a broad range of organizations is hosting this series: United Ways of Utah, Hinckley Institute, Deseret News, Sutherland Institute and Utah Association of Public Charter Schools.