SALT LAKE CITY- (Feb. 23, 2012) With just 14 days remaining in the 2012 General Legislative Session, business leaders supporting the Prosperity 2020 movement praised lawmakers for their support of education and called for action on three legislative items.

“Our long-term prosperity depends in part on the decisions made in this Capitol,” said Mark Bouchard, chair of the Prosperity 2020 movement and senior managing director of CBRE. “Today we call for action on optional all-day kindergarten, reducing the financial burden on college students and mission-based funding for colleges and universities.”

Already this session, Legislators have advanced education in several ways. Several key bills are making their way through the Legislature, setting clear goals by implementing ACT testing for 8^th, 10^th and 11^th graders (S.B. 10); measuring progress by implementing computer adaptive testing (H.B. 15 and S.B. 97); and evaluating performance to provide new teacher evaluation tools (S.B. 64).

“It is a business principle that you cannot improve anything unless you can measure it,” said Bouchard. “These measurement tools are critical first steps toward improving our educational performance.”

The Legislature has also advanced bills in favor of fair competition, providing pay increases for public and higher education; to embrace innovation, strengthening mathematics and science education, including investment in the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative (USTAR), and by investing in people, supporting Success Stipends and Scholarships.

Heading into the home stretch of the legislative session, business leaders also encouraged members of the Legislature to support three additional measures.

Optional extended kindergarten
Optional all-day kindergarten is a fundamental and essential investment in ensuring that 90 percent of our students are proficient in reading and math by the end of third and sixth grades, one of the main goals of the Prosperity 2020 movement. Utah has shown strong leadership over the last several years to make all-day kindergarten available for disadvantaged students. 

“It is critical that students get started right, or they will be at a disadvantage their entire educational careers,” said Deborah Bayle, president and CEO of the United Way of Salt Lake. “Students who drop out of high school start down that path in elementary school if they can’t keep up with their peers in reading and math.”

Reduce financial burden on college students
Students are paying an increasing share of the costs for higher education. Just 10 years ago, the state paid 75 percent of the cost of students’ education.  Today, the state pays 52 percent of costs and students pay 48 percent.

“It has a trickle effect into our entire economy,” said Bouchard. “Young people are delayed in being able to invest in homes and support their families. Early excess debt is an albatross to their entire professional careers.”

Mission based funding
Every one of our colleges and universities has a distinctive mission.  To achieve the goals set by Prosperity 2020, we need to invest in technical education, research funding and other unique missions of each institution.   This will enable students to flourish, and will ensure that our research institutions continue to innovate, spinning off businesses and jobs for our future economy.

About Prosperity 2020
Prosperity 2020 is the largest business-led movement ever assembled in Utah to advance educational investment and innovation. The partnership includes 15 chambers of commerce, economic development entities, and other education-minded entities funded by business. The vision of Prosperity 2020 is for that state’s educated and trained workforce to propel Utah to enduring prosperity, improved quality of life and the strongest economy in the nation. Learn more by visiting www.prosperity2020.com.

Utah Students, Business Leaders and PTA join forces

Salt Lake City – Today more than 200 students and business leaders came together with a unified voice on the steps of the Utah State Capitol. The group called on elected officials to invest and innovate to improve Utah’s educational performance and our economy.

By 2020, 66 percent of Utah’s workforce will need trade certificates or degrees for Utah’s economy to thrive.

David Smith, Student Representative for Education First and University of Utah student said, “We are here today representing the 32,000 college students from across this state who have signed the Education First pledge – a call for public policy leaders to put our economy first by putting education first.”

Several prominent business leaders joined students, including Mark Bouchard, Prosperity 2020 Chairman. “This is an organized movement. Utah’s students and business community share a vision, the vision to build enduring prosperity and the best economy in the nation by improving education,” said Bouchard. “Prosperity 2020 is the largest coalition of business executives and associations that has ever united around one clear goal for education. As business leaders, we feel the urgency to improve Utah’s educational results.”

Ogden business leader and Education First Co-Chair Nolan Karras was also in attendance.   “Businesses in Utah want to hire the sixty-six percent. We need them in the workforce. I am honored to stand with these motivated and bright young people today. The business community will participate in every aspect of public policy to persuade elected officials that education is the path to enduring prosperity. We are working with legislators, attending Republican and Democrat caucus meetings and political conventions.  We will help elected officials who help public schools and colleges and universities.”

Neela Pack, University of Utah Student Body President, led the charge on behalf of  students. “We are the sixty-six percent. We want great jobs.  We want to invent things, provide medical care and find solutions to today’s problems.  Some of us want to make movies and some of us would like to be on Capitol Hill some day.   We need quality educational opportunities to make these things happen.”

Pack continued, “The students here today have told you the challenges we face, like enrollment caps.  Enrollment hasn’t been funded since 2002. Tuition costs have exploded and student loan debt is off the charts. We came here today to call for leadership and action to make education the state’s first priority. We are communicating our priorities to legislators today. We will do our part if the state does its part by giving us access to higher education.”

Also in attendance were members of the Utah PTA. Vice President of Legislative Affairs, Dawn Davies said, “I represent PTA members from all over Utah when I say that we must do better by Utah schools. We embrace the Prosperity 2020 and Education First goals to improve education. The 66 percent are our children and grandchildren. They are Utah’s future.   Investing in schools will create a path to enduring prosperity – not just great jobs, but great families and communities.”

To find out more about Education First, visit www.educationfirstutah.org.