Democratic Response

Jan. 16, 2001

Good evening President Mansell, Speaker Stephens, members of the Legislature, Chief Justice Howe, Lieutenant Governor Walker and my fellow Utahns.

Utah is strong, optimistic and full of the kind of challenges that create opportunity.

But first off this evening, there is someone I want you to meet. If as legislators, you ever wonder about the difference you make, meet Preston White. Preston is 11 months old. He and his family live in Nephi. They are sitting tonight with their state representative, Darin Peterson.

When Preston was born, he had a serious bone abnormality that required immediate, expensive care. Preston was one of the 20,000 children enrolled in the Children's Health Insurance Program the Legislature put in place 2 years ago. CHIP covered the treatment he needed and saved his parents from bankruptcy. Best of all, it saved Preston from serious disability.

He is living proof that what we do here can improve lives.

Preston is growing up in a Utah that is young, education-minded and tech-savvy.

For the past 8 years, education has been an intense focus. Better funding, higher teacher salaries and higher test scores, combined with smaller classes means continuous improvement. And better schools means better jobs, with Utah household income soaring from 29th to 8th in the nation in 10 years.

Crime is at a 20-year low, and we are investing statewide in transportation, with 43 Centennial highway projects, expanded public transportation and Legacy Parkway.

Children are safer, with more foster families and adoption for the abused or neglected. Welfare dependency is down by more than half. And we are ensuring quality growth through Envision Utah and 21st Century communities initiatives on housing, water and open space.

We are well on our way to providing high-speed Internet services to every Utah household. You can register your car or buy your hunting license on line. And all this takes a smaller percentage of our paychecks than 8 years ago, causing financial publications to designate Utah "the best managed state in America."

A strong economy provides for families to meet their basic needs; to feed, clothe and house themselves, but it also provides the means to accomplish our most noble aspirations as a people: caring for the needy, creating parks, building highways, fostering the arts, making our state a safe place to live. All of these are made possible by a strong economy.

Economy

But the fact is, economies go through life cycles: growth and maturity. And they require constant renewal and rejuvenation to stay strong. There are signs that our national economy may be slowing.

Two words express what I believe to be our state's most important priority: ECONOMIC TRANSITION.

I was at a Jazz game. I saw one of Utah's players drive to the basket and score the go-ahead points with a dramatic slam dunk. The crowd went crazy and for just a split second, the Jazz players celebrated the moment.

At that instant, I heard their coach, Jerry Sloan, stomping and yelling, the way he does to get his players' attention. "TRANSITION! TRANSITION!" He waved his players to the other end of the court.

The Jazz sprinted to get into position for the next play. Coaches call this "the transition game:" Anticipating what comes next, and moving faster than the competition to be ready.

I asked Coach Sloan about it.

He said, "I tell my team: Always play forward. Anticipate what's next, and get there before they do."

So, what is Utah's economic game plan? First, we have a young, education- minded, tech-savvy workforce that will grow at twice the national average. Second, we will keep Utah a safe, livable place where New Economy business can operate profitably.

And finally, when it comes to the competition, we'll just out work 'em.

We live in a time of rapid economic and cultural change. It is driven by information technology, which affects every part of our lives. Our home towns have become part of a single global market. The power of nations has shifted from bombs to bandwidth. More and more we do our errands online, not in line. From where we sit we can literally reach across the globe and connect with loved ones in far-off lands...in an instant. What used to take weeks now takes seconds.

Every change both eliminates jobs and creates others. Change is unsettling, often painful, but it is the fuel of renewal.

Education

Education and economic expansion have never been closer allies. For that reason, I have proposed a four-year education improvement plan starting this year with a giant step forward in funding, 14.8%. The plan calls for more textbooks, class size reduction and paying teachers equivalent with other professionals.

By the end of next year, we will have put into operation our accountability system, U-PASS. Students will be tested continually to assure they are learning the necessary skills, especially in reading. Every child will read at grade level, or we will provide extra help until they do.

Special consideration needs to be given to the progress of our ethnic minority students. We are losing too many of them.

Like our forefathers, these are able children who come here with their families seeking peace, refuge and the American dream. We welcome them.

Recently I visited a fourth grade class. I sat on the floor next to a group of students.

I leaned over to one of the boys and asked him, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"He looked down at the floor, and did not answer. So I asked him again. He stared at the floor.

Then I felt a tug on my sleeve from another boy. "He doesn't understand you," he said. "He doesn't speak English." It was a poignant moment.

It helped me understand how hard it must be, and how important it is that we respond to the changing face of our state demographics.

I want you to meet Aldina, a third grader. She was born in war-torn Bosnia and came to the United States in 1998. She did not speak any English. Aldina, do you have something you want to say? (RESPONSE AND FLAG) No child will be left behind.

Higher Education

Our education emphasis can not stop in our primary grades. All Utahns need access to higher education. We are expanding our system of branch campuses, and increase the velocity of our entire system. I have challenged the Board of Regents to reduce the time students take to get a 4-year degree to 4-years.

We also need to double in five years and triple in eight years the number of engineering, computer science and tech graduates in Utah universities, colleges and applied technology centers.

Let this be the beginning of a new emphasis on market relevance in the allocation of resources at our colleges and universities. I have proposed an aggressive building program to add the physical capacity on our campuses, and funding to assure we have qualified faculty and up-to-date equipment. We need 15,000 engineering and computer science students by 2005. Our economic future depends on it.

To get there, we need to nurture math and technology skills among our students in junior high and high school, especially among young women.

We are losing from our public schools too many teachers in high demand areas of math and technology. Something has to be done to stop this drain.

I meet qualified math and technology teachers all over the state. Unfortunately,I meet many of them at high-tech businesses, not in our schools. They simply could not afford to stay.

Representative Tom Hatch has as his guest tonight one of those former teachers, Jeff Owens, who taught math at Panguitch High School. Jeff influenced many from that small high school to pursue technology careers.

Despite his love of teaching, despite his love of Panguitch, he left, taking a job with a computer software company.

Jeff's story is not unique. Too many Utah teachers are forced to make the same decision every year. We hate to lose a great teacher in English, art, social science in any category. We value all teachers, but right now there is a magnified problem when math and advanced technology teachers leave. It starts an economic domino effect.

Our economy depends upon those who can teach these skills. If we lose them, we lose our capacity to educate our young people in the careers that will keep them competitive. To have great schools, we have to have a great economy. It is that simple.

It is time to do something unconventional.

More State of the State Address..