Keeping public education funded during recession important, says education economist

SALT LAKE CITY — Ensuring public education is properly funded during the recession is of utmost importance — and something Utah will regret for a long time if the state neglects it, a national education economist told lawmakers, state education leaders and other dignitaries May 6.

Richard Sims, chief economist of the National Education Association, spoke to more than 100 people at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City.

Good quality of life, especially high education levels, attracts businesses and educated individuals to an area — which positively affects the economy, Sims said. "You've got to capitalize on that," he said.

Also addressing education funding and economy issues was Pam Perlich, senior research economist in the Bureau of Economic Business Research at the University of Utah; and Stephen Kroes, president of the Utah Foundation, a nonprofit research organization that aims to promote a thriving economy, well-prepared work force and high quality of life for Utahns.

Perlich said, "Our actions today very much determine how the future will unfold."

Utah is on the receiving end of much migration, bringing in many people other than traditional Utahns with different races, ethnicities, cultures, religions and languages.

There are 117 different languages being spoken in homes of Utah students.

"We need to adapt so this next generation is educationally successful. This will translate into individual and statewide economic success because education is an investment in human capitol, which is the driver in the knowledge economy," Perlich said after the event.

Some people are coming from outside the U.S. Others are heading to Utah from areas that have been more hard hit by the recession, such as Arizona and Las Vegas.

"Many people are looking to Utah to pick up the pieces," Perlich said. "We've got a new day in Utah. This change is irreversible, cumulative and ongoing."

Kroes said despite being lowest in the nation in per-pupil funding, Utah has boasted high academic performance for decades as compared to the rest of the nation. However, this has been during a homogenous era — and that is changing.

The state is going to have to step up to the plate and make education a priority, Kroes said. "We have valued other things above public ed," Kroes said, pointing to roads, prisons and health care.