Human capital – the knowledge, skills, and abilities of every person – is one of our nation’s greatest resources. Because an education is essential for many to pursue the American dream, I believe reforms are needed to empower students and their families with options that best meet their unique needs.

Children’s first teachers are their parents, and parents must carry the primary responsibility to oversee and direct their children’s education. Therefore, it’s important that families have choices – whether that be home schooling, public school, charter school, private school, etc. – and we should not incentivize one over another.

I have served on the Uintah Basin Christian Academy school board for many years and our mission statement is: Glorifying God by assisting parents in their God-given responsibility to train up their children to be followers of Christ, in possession of strong intellects, spirits, bodies, and characters by providing students with Christian values, biblical principles, and an excellent academic education.

I believe it is imperative that parents take the lead in their children’s education. While the four-year formalized college education is held as the gold standard by many, it really shouldn’t be. For some it is absolutely the right route, but for others, higher education may not be necessary, or they may be better served and prepared for work through an apprenticeship program or short-term, highly focused instruction. Again, I believe choice and options are important. At the end of the day, higher education should prepare the upcoming generation for success in today’s workforce. For this to be accomplished and the cost of post-secondary education to decrease, we as a county need to continue with our support of scholarship programs offered through Utah State and UBTech for local residence.

I was recently nominated  to a position on the new Special Service District (SSD#1) that will oversee the funds that were in the former Impact Mitigation District for scholarships and help in implementing new programs in our local schools. I will continue to fight for these funds to be used for scholarship opportunities and to improve education in our community.

The county has an excellent working relationship with Utah State and UBTech and we need to continue this, we are truly blessed to have these resources available to us here in our community.