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LEHI — Dry Creek Elementary just opened its doors this fall and is already full with 850 students and seven kindergarten classes.
"We will outgrow our school very quickly," said Principal Sam Rencher.
State lawmakers have allocated millions of dollars to accommodate booming student growth. But funding growth, laments Rencher, doesn't help schools better educate Utah's students.
"We need to fund growth and then we need to increase funding for education," he said.
Utahns overwhelmingly agree, according to first-of-its kind values research by Envision Utah. On a long list of issues, Utahns ranked education at the top over health care, jobs and transportation. Only air quality and water ranked on par. But when asked how Utah is performing in these issues, education ranked near the bottom.
They're telling us — sending us a loud message — education is how this state must prioritize its time and resources to bring about the best future.
–Robert Grow, Envision Utah president
Envision Utah President Robert Grow said such divergent numbers are a red flag.
"They're telling us — sending us a loud message — education is how this state must prioritize its time and resources to bring about the best future."
That's what public opinion says, but money talks.
Comparisons of how we spend our tight buget resources could raise the question of whether we value roads, prison inmates and even dogs at the shelter more than our children's education.
Watch the video above to see those comparisons and what economists say will be the consequences if we don't align our values with resources.
