People concerned about federal issues should run to be state delegates, while those concerned about state and local issues should run to be county delegates. If your state house or senate boundaries cross county lines, you would need to be a state delegate to select candidates for state races.
Seeking Education Champions
Caucus meetings are critical!
Caucus meetings are critical!
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Find the location of your caucus meeting here (must be a registered voter)
Utah’s students and teachers need lawmakers
who support public education. In Utah, our lawmakers are often chosen long
before their names ever show up on a public election ballot. That’s because
candidates are selected by political parties and political parties in Utah use
a “caucus and convention” system to pick their candidates. Under this system,
neighbors meet together in a “caucus” and elect “delegates” who represent their
neighbors. These delegates then gather at a party “convention” to vote on which
candidate(s) they want to be on the ballot.
Come caucus night (March 13 for the Democrats
and March 15 for the Republicans) it’s critical that you do three things:
1)
Attend
your caucus meeting along with as many like-minded neighbors as you can get to
come and support you;
2)
Run as a delegate; and
3)
Vote
for other education-friendly delegates who will in turn support
education-friendly candidates.
Selecting Education Friendly Delegates—
How do you know if a delegate is education
friendly? At the caucus meeting, you’ll have an opportunity to ask questions of
those running as delegates. Here are some questions you can ask potential
delegates at your caucus meeting:
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What do you view as Utah’s top priorities?
Surveys suggest most Utahns view education as the state’s No. 1 priority with the economy a close second in most polls. Be wary of candidates with an “agenda” not in line with your neighborhood priorities.
Surveys suggest most Utahns view education as the state’s No. 1 priority with the economy a close second in most polls. Be wary of candidates with an “agenda” not in line with your neighborhood priorities.
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Do you support additional funding for public education?
By a wide margin, Utah ranks last in the U.S. for the amount it spends per student on education and the vast majority of Utahns believe our public schools are underfunded. The UEA supports additional funding for research-based reforms that will improve student achievement.
By a wide margin, Utah ranks last in the U.S. for the amount it spends per student on education and the vast majority of Utahns believe our public schools are underfunded. The UEA supports additional funding for research-based reforms that will improve student achievement.
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What public education reforms do you support?
The UEA supports research-based reforms proven to boost student achievement such as smaller class sizes (Utah has by far the nation’s largest), increased student access to technology, enhanced early intervention programs, training and collaboration opportunities for teachers, and reforms that focus on attracting and retaining a quality teacher in every classroom. The UEA does not support paying teachers based solely on test scores, diverting funds from public schools to for-profit companies without taxpayer accountability, or reforms that would result in inequality of student access to educational programs.
The UEA supports research-based reforms proven to boost student achievement such as smaller class sizes (Utah has by far the nation’s largest), increased student access to technology, enhanced early intervention programs, training and collaboration opportunities for teachers, and reforms that focus on attracting and retaining a quality teacher in every classroom. The UEA does not support paying teachers based solely on test scores, diverting funds from public schools to for-profit companies without taxpayer accountability, or reforms that would result in inequality of student access to educational programs.
Vote for delegates who support the same
positions you do, or better yet, consider running yourself – it’s really
not that difficult and can make a HUGE difference!
2012 Caucus Meetings—
2012 caucus meetings will be held March 13
(Democratic) and March 15 (Republican). Find the location of your caucus
meeting at http://vote.utah.gov/user/lookup/
For more information, visit myUEA.org. You can view the Utahns for Public Schools PowerPoint on becoming a delegate here.
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