August 27, 2019(Utah Public Radio) - Utah spends less money per pupil than any other state in the country. “And we’re always last, so what’s the point of talking about that all the time?” This is Shawn Teigen. He works with the Utah Foundation, a non-profit organization that does research on government organizations. They recently released a report on how Utah schools compare to other schools across the country.
August 27, 2019(UtahPolicy.com) - Given Utah’s position as both one of the driest and one of the fastest-growing states, getting water management right is critical. Among the most basic – and contentious – components of water management is how we pay for water, with property taxes versus user fees at the heart of the debate. Utah Foundation’s new Paying for Water Series will examine the key areas of concern related to this debate, including conservation, fairness and practical considerations. … Continued
August 28, 2019(KVNU) - A new series of reports published by the Utah Foundation, detail how Utahns are paying for water in an arid state. The report shows that there at least 308 public water suppliers in Utah and the fact that the population is expected to double over the next 40 years, the managing of this vital resource becomes even more important. On KVNU’s For the People program on Wednesday, Peter Reichard of the Utah Foundation talked about … Continued
August 27, 2019(KTVX) - How we pay for our water in Utah has long been the center of a heated debate. It’s one of our most precious resources, but it’s not always treated that way. “Every Utahn sees their neighbors watering in rainstorms, watering sidewalks, streets and gutters. We need to stop that practice,” said Zach Frankel with the Utah Rivers Council. Frankel says the problem is the way water is paid for in our state. A new study … Continued
August 25, 2019(KSL-TV) - This week on Sunday Edition, education funding in Utah is low -– but is it doing enough? We look at the numbers from a new Utah Foundation study. (Note: Interview segment begins at 10:42 into the program.)
August 26, 2019(Deseret News) - When the question of K-12 spending comes up in public policy circles, someone is bound to mention: “We spend the least per student in the nation.” Though ranking last may induce shame, the real issue is not how much we spend on schools. Rather, it’s how well the schools perform. Utah Foundation launched a series of reports on K-12 spending nearly two years ago, exploring issues ranging from funding for students at risk of academic … Continued
August 25, 2019(Deseret News) - In addition to my experience in running economic development for the state, I have been involved in and committed to education throughout my life. There have been numerous disparate education studies and plans, including many that measure Utah’s current education status and achievement in a variety of ways. A couple of conclusions jump out at me: First, numerous people and organizations have done incredible work researching and analyzing education as well as developing and executing … Continued
August 21, 2019(KNRS) - Rod Arquette Show Daily Rundown – Tuesday, August 20, 2019 4:20 pm: Peter Reichard, President of the Utah Foundation, joins the show for a conversation about a new study showing the outcomes of education spending in the state. (Note: Interview begins at 14:35 into the program.)
August 21, 2019(UtahPolicy.com) - Utah may spend less per student in its public schools than any other state, but Utah students are doing as well or better than comparable states on a range of measures of educational outcomes. A new study from Utah Foundation, Making the Grade? K-12 Outcomes and Spending in Utah, compares the performance of students here with neighboring states in the Mountain West and with several peer states selected for their similarity to Utah’s population demographics. … Continued
August 22, 2019(Deseret News) - If you have problems with vertigo, you probably shouldn’t involve yourself with trying to assess public school performance in Utah. It doesn’t take long for otherwise healthy people to get dizzy. The latest report from the nonpartisan, nonprofit, just-the-facts Utah Foundation does an admirable job trying to make sense of any relationship between spending and outcomes in Utah’s public education. That’s an age-old question. Trust me on this one. About 20 years ago, while serving … Continued
August 20, 2019(KSL Newsradio) - A new report says Utah is still spending a lot less per student than many other states. But the report also says Utah students are out-performing those other states. The report released by the Utah Foundation says Utah is spending half than what some states are on their students at $7,179 per student in 2017, which is the latest data researchers used. The national median was $11,554 and Wyoming was spending $16,537 per pupil. But … Continued
August 20, 2019(Deseret News) - Utah spends less – and in most cases far less – per student than surrounding states and its peer states, yet performs “respectably overall in terms of outcomes,” according to a new Utah Foundation report. States that spend the most on K-12 education outperform other states but “it is impossible to draw a straight line between higher spending and better outcomes,” the report says. “Utah itself proves this point: The Beehive State fares better on … Continued
July 28, 2019(KSL.com) - A 2018 study from the Utah Foundation found that 14 of Utah’s 26 jails had substance abuse programs in place. The Weber County jail is one of them — it offers substance abuse treatment and a range of other in-house services, including mental health counseling, vocational rehabilitation, Alcoholics Anonymous programming and parenting classes. One of the challenges of offering such programming within county jails, however, is that people don’t tend to stay there very long. … Continued
July 14, 2019(Salt Lake Tribune) - It has been said that John F. Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural address inspired a generation to consider public service. But for those going into public service today, Kennedy’s words might be rephrased: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country — and be sure to ask about the pension benefits.” That’s because, in the decades since Kennedy, the public and private sectors in the U.S. have taken … Continued
June 25, 2019(Vice.com) - Their hypothesis began to trickle into the mainstream after the 2011 paper. When the Utah Foundation, an independent research group, released a report in 2018 on the “startling” rise in suicides, it included a mention of Renshaw’s findings—that the counties with the highest rates are ones with higher elevations. The Montana Department of Public Health began to note the altitude of each suicide in their state, California Sunday reported, and found that suicides took place … Continued
June 13, 2019(KNRS) - Utah Foundation President Peter Reichard talks with Rod Arquette on KNRS about concerns regarding growth in Utah and the new Utah Foundation study Building a Better Beehive: Land Use Decision Making, Fiscal Sustainability and Quality of Life in Utah. (Note: Program segment begins at 70 minutes 22 seconds into the podcast recording.)
June 15, 2019(KUTV) - According to Utah Foundation, the report aims to further flesh out the compensation picture by diving into teacher retirement in the state of Utah. The report also makes comparisons between Utah and the other Mountain States, which show differences in generosity and other features. When regarding pay, Utah Foundation’s report revealed that teachers do tend to make less than people in the private sector, while teacher retirement benefits tend to be more generous. This compensation … Continued
June 13, 2019(KTVX) - The Utah Foundation released a report Thursday on teacher retirement plans in Utah and found that, when compared with neighboring states, Utah has one of the most generous plans — but prospective teachers have no idea. Shawn Teigen is the lead researcher on the report and said that teachers have a “great” governmental benefit, but prospective teachers simply don’t know about it and may, therefore, choose another profession. He said Utah plans, “Allow people to … Continued
June 12, 2019(Deseret News) - This state’s powerhouse economic growth has made it the envy of other states and is one of the key features of life in today’s Utah. But with that growth comes challenges and a constant stream of pivotal development decisions. It puts land use decision-making at center stage in the theater of public policy. Utah Foundation addresses the importance of development decisions in a new report, Building a Better Beehive: Land Use Decision Making, Fiscal Sustainability … Continued
June 09, 2019(UtahPolicy.com) - Utah Foundation’s newest report explores the fiscal challenges that accompany growth, both in the short-term and in the long-term. The report also draws from Utah Foundation’s 2018 Quality of Life survey to demonstrate what Utahns value most in their communities, and which issues concern them most. Building from the fiscal challenges and quality of life concerns, the report identifies five strategic categories to confront the challenges of growth: Promoting efficient land use. Expanding transportation options. … Continued
June 05, 2019(WNYC The Takeaway) - Utah is adding homes and apartments at a rate of nearly three times the national average, as a result of a growing tech sector and the draw of Salt Lake City. Utah is the number one state for population growth this decade, according to the Census Bureau. But high prices are beginning to shut people out of both the rental and ownership markets. Shawn Teigen is the research director with the Utah Foundation. He discusses … Continued
June 04, 2019(Deseret News) - Tuesday’s report urges lawmakers to “right-size” the base by taxing personal services, such as dry cleaning, haircuts, lawn care and construction. Business-to-business services should be exempted, according to the report, to ensure only final products are taxed and avoid double taxation. The report largely aligns with one completed last year by the Utah Foundation. The foundation pointed out that during the past 45 years, Utah has seen the nation’s second-biggest decline in taxable sales as … Continued
June 04, 2019(Utah Public Radio) - According to Utah’s Division of Air Quality, roughly 50% of Utah’s air pollution comes from vehicle emissions. The Utah Foundation and the Utah Clean Air Partnership, or UCAIR, are studying alternative fueled cars as a way to lessen the amount of pollution in the air. “So, we’re at the initial stages of the study, but if you look at the alternative fueled vehicles out there now, they’re just a very small percentage of vehicles on … Continued
June 01, 2019(Salt Lake Tribune) - In Utah, the challenges are less pronounced than in the nation at large. As the economist Raj Chetty has documented, Utah remains one of the most upwardly mobile states in the nation. Utah Foundation’s own research has shown that the state has a particularly robust middle class. In other words, our kids generally have a better shot at the American Dream. But for our state to stay ahead of the curve, we must attend to … Continued
May 30, 2019(UtahPolicy.com) - Utah Foundation has partnered with the Utah Clean Air Partnership (UCAIR) to study the incentives and disincentives around alternative-fuel vehicles in the context of improving Utah’s air quality. Poor air quality is both a health issue and an economic challenge along the Wasatch Front. One of the biggest drivers of poor air quality is automobile traffic – a problem that could be alleviated by shifting to alternative fuel vehicles, among which electric vehicles now appear … Continued
