QUESTION: Education often is viewed of as a responsibility of the state Legislature. Are there ways the county mayor can be involved in improving the education of Utah children? And if so, how would you go about implementing those ideas?
JIM BRADLEY: There are three important ways Salt Lake County officials impact education. The first area is the County’s after school and recreation programs. Second is our role in establishing intra-school district political boundaries. And the third is safeguarding public education funds that would be diverted to land developers through RDAs and CDAs.
After school and recreation programs: Throughout the unincorporated areas of the County, we operate after school programs. Additionally, our recreation programs meet the needs of students regardless of municipal boundaries.
Redistricting: In 2010, the Salt Lake County Council charged the newly formed Independent Redistricting Commission with redistricting the County Council and intra school district boundaries. The task was for the Commission to work intimately with all school districts under our jurisdiction to ensure that the new boundaries met community-requested representation goals. Janice Auger, Republican, and Tim Chambless, Democrat, chaired the Independent Commission. The Commission’s work was excellent and widely accepted by the public. This process should serve as a model for statewide redistricting in the future.
RDA and CDA Review: Each time an RDA or CDA is developed, funds from schools, libraries, cities, county government and other taxing entities are used to fulfill the needs of the RDA or CDA. As a Salt Lake County Councilman, I critically question each RDA and CDA that comes before the County to ensure that County and education funds are not simply being used to lure retail development from one area of Salt Lake County to another. Redevelopment and Community Development Areas should be used for true economic development and not just to inure private retail developers and their projects. Vigorous reviews of these proposals by my colleagues on the Salt Lake County Council provide a very meaningful safeguard to education dollars.