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.)
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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June 08, 2025 (UtahPolicy.com) - Harvard political science professor Robert Putnam talks with Dan Bammes and Utah Foundation President Peter Reichard about the idea of social capital — the central idea of his groundbreaking book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. He also talks about his more recent book, Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, that looks at the growing gap between wealthy American families and others who’ve found education and social mobility much harder to … Continued
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May 26, 2019 (Salt Lake Tribune) - The problem with that is that all the figures from the other states also don’t count building and bonding. So if we still wanted to do an apples-to-apples comparison, we’d have to add in those costs in the other states’ spending as well. Which would almost certainly slide Utah right back down to the bottom of the heap. Herbert has long made it clear that he thinks Utah needs to do better by its public … Continued
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May 23, 2019 (Salt Lake Tribune) - Beyond that, the grim rankings go on. Utah got last place for teacher salaries, last place for revenue from the federal government and second to last place for total funding (much of which is spent on buildings — which is why it’s last place for pupil spending). “I think it’s up to policymakers to see how interested they are in getting out of last place,” said Shawn Teigen, vice president of the Utah Foundation, a … Continued
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May 22, 2019 (KUER) - As Utah faces an ongoing teacher shortage, a growing number of school districts are looking to bump up salaries as a way to recruit and retain educators. The latest is Ogden School District, whose board approved a 5.7% pay increase for its educators during a special session Monday afternoon. That will bring up the starting salary for new Ogden district teachers from $42,172 to $45,472. This recent pay bump for Utah teachers is part of … Continued
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May 14, 2019 (Daily Herald) - The Utah Foundation will honor Rio Tinto with the Civic Cornerstone Award at the foundation’s 2019 Annual Luncheon on May 21 at the Little America Hotel. The Civic Cornerstone award is an award given to companies and organizations to recognize their contributions to the Utah Foundation’s mission and the community. According to a press release, Rio Tinto has been a major supporter of the arts, education and community institutions in Utah, providing support to Utah … Continued
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May 08, 2019 (Deseret News) - As a Utah Foundation report said last year, these exemptions come with good arguments, but “exemptions can create economic distortions and unfairly benefit specific industries over others.” Would they undo the many earmarks, such as for roads and transportation, that eat away at the state’s general fund? That Utah Foundation report laid out the argument for why Utah may have a sales tax problem. Over the past 45 years, it said, only one other state … Continued
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May 07, 2019 (KTVX) - The most recent data from Utah Foundation ranks the state fifth in the nation for suicide rates. The governor’s suicide prevention fund awarded Reach4Hope a $7,500 grant, as staff aim to reduce suicide through education, awareness, collaboration, and hope. “It’s something that we can bring them out of if we show compassion and give them back the hope that they had,” National Alliance on Mental Illness community liaison Lynn Bjorkman said. “Hopelessness is the big … Continued
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May 01, 2019 (City Weekly) - We’re not sure why it was necessary, but Envision Utah conducted a study on statewide teacher pay. It’s not like we didn’t know education was underfunded, but you have to understand the common thinking—”we do more with less”—which keeps state dollars from the school system. This, of course, makes raising salaries a bit of a problem for school districts that have to penny-pinch. So, you have to hand it to the Canyons School District for … Continued
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April 25, 2019 (KNRS) - Utah Foundation President Peter Reichard joins the show to discuss the results of a new study on teacher pay that shows Utah’s growing economy may be making it harder to keep teachers in the classroom. (Note: Segment begins at 77:49 into the program.)
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April 24, 2019 (KSL Newsradio) - Utah Foundation Vice President and Research Director Shawn Teigen comments on the plan by Canyons School District to raise the base salary for starting teachers to $50,000 per year, along with providing a substantial raise for all teachers in the district. (Audio used by permission.)
April 23, 2019 (San Juan Record) - San Juan School District teachers are some of the top earning teachers in the state. Surprised? That’s according to a report from the Utah Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization. The report, Apples to Apples: How Teacher Pay in Utah Stacks Up to the Competition, compares Utah teacher pay to that across the nation, with particular focus on how Utah teacher salaries compare with other teacher salaries in the Mountain States. The report also … Continued
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April 21, 2019 (Deseret News) - It’s usually a simple equation. If you want high-performing schools, you need high-performing teachers. The question — particularly for a fast-growing state like Utah — is how to attract and retain them. In its new report, “Apples to Apples? How Teacher Pay in Utah Stacks Up to the Competition,” Utah Foundation reveals that average teacher pay in our state is well below the national average and at the bottom of the eight Mountain States. But … Continued
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April 16, 2019 (UtahPolicy.com) - Rio Tinto will be honored with the Civic Cornerstone Award at Utah Foundation’s 2019 Annual Luncheon on May 21st at the Little America Hotel. Utah Foundation’s supporters include companies and organizations that serve as true champions of the civic community. Through the Civic Cornerstone Award, Utah Foundation seeks to recognize these supporters’ remarkable contributions both to the organization’s mission and to the broader community. Rio Tinto has been a major supporter of the arts, education and … Continued
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April 15, 2019 (KTVX) - The clock is ticking to file your 2018 tax return, and federal tax law changes could have a significant impact on the tax returns of Utah families, according to experts. Tax data analyst Christopher Collard with Utah Foundation says Utahns filing may find state taxes are higher this year if they have more children; charitable giving may also not be as beneficial, from a tax perspective, as it was last year. That’s because changes in … Continued
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April 14, 2019 (KSL-TV) - Utah teachers are comparatively underpaid. What the research shows and what one group is doing about it. KSL-TV’s Doug Wright speaks with Utah Foundation President Peter Reichard and Envision Utah CEO Robert Grow.
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