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SALT LAKE CITY — Examining working conditions could help reduce teacher turnover, an expert said during a panel discussion in the Utah Senate Building Thursday. Also, Utah Rep. Mia Love told Utah Senators, "It's incredibly important for us to take ownership and responsibility for the things that happen in our schools," following a deadly attack in Florida.
For those and other stories from Utah's Capitol Hill, click on the headlines below.
Working conditions a key factor in teacher turnover, Brown University professor says
As Utah searches for solutions to its higher-than-average rate of teacher turnover, it may want to focus more on working conditions.
Students come with challenges, but schools' responses to the challenges can make a significant difference in rates of teacher retention, said John Papay, assistant professor of education and economics at Brown University.
Many studies show that teacher turnover is greater in schools that serve low-performing students, higher proportions of minority students and low-income students, he said.
Rep. Mia Love: 'Everything has to be on the table' after Florida school shooting
Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, told Utah senators Thursday that as a mother with three children in public schools, "everything has to be on the table" after a deadly mass shooting at a Florida high school last week.
"I think it’s incredibly important for us to take ownership and responsibility for the things that happen in our schools," Love said. "I think we have to address the issue. We can't put our heads in the sand and pretend that it’s not happening."
She said in response to a question about her reaction to the Parkland, Florida, shooting that left 17 dead that she could support banning so-called bump stock devices that modify weapons to fire faster and additional background checks.
Utah Senate gives preliminary approval to bill equalizing school funding
The Utah Senate gave preliminary approval Thursday to legislation intended to help equalize school funding across the state.
SB145, sponsored by Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, advanced to a third reading in the Senate by a vote of 20-6.
The legislation would set aside $36 million from the state’s education fund to increase the minimum funding level for school districts statewide, adding funding each year.
Utah lawmakers stiffen penalty for killing police dog
Killing a police dog could land someone behind bars for as many as 15 years under a law the Utah Legislature passed Thursday.
SB57 would bump intentionally or knowingly killing a K-9 service dog from a third-degree felony to a second-degree felony, punishable by one to 15 years in prison. The House passed the measure 43-24.
Rep. Lowry Snow, R-Santa Clara, said a police dog is an extension of his handler. When someone takes the life of a dog, it's one step from killing an officer, he said.
Trucking company donates $400K to SLCC diesel tech program
A local trucking firm "put its money where its mouth is" after making a major contribution to a statewide education program aimed at developing talent for the state's growing transportation industry.
Kenworth Sales Thursday announced a $400,000 donation to the Diesel Tech Pathways program at Salt Lake Community College’s new Westpointe Center. The funding will be used for scholarships, equipment and facility upgrades for the diesel technology program, Salt Lake Community College President Deneece Huftalin said.
"Hopefully, as we start to grow the program, we'll start to connect with other donors and try to continue to get more scholarships (for students)," she said. "As demand grows and we need to incentivize more students, we'll try to strengthen our scholarship numbers."
Utah Legislature urges full compensation on rural $ for federal lands
Utah may have received $38.4 million in the last year from the federal government to make up for lands inside its borders that don't generate property tax revenue, but lawmakers overwhelmingly believe it's chump change compared with what they deserve.
To that end, both the House and Senate in the Utah Legislature on Thursday unanimously signed off on a resolution and a subsequent bill that directs a more thorough accounting of the lost dollars.
The program is Payment in Lieu of Taxes, established in 1976 by the federal government to compensate states with large swaths of federally held land that is unable to generate property tax revenue. Those would be lands such as national parks, acreage managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service.
