Washington County Language Immersion Council

2016 Washington County School Board of Education

Candidate Questionnaire

Terry L. Hutchinson
1. Please tell us a little about yourself and why you have filed to run for Washington County
School District Board of Education.
My name is Terry Hutchinson. I have been a resident of St. George, Utah since 1992.
I am an attorney in private practice with offices in St. George and Mesquite, Nevada. I
graduated from Brigham Young University in 1984 with a Bachelors of Science degree in
Economics and received my Juris Doctorate degree from BYU in 1987. I served in the Army
with the First Infantry Division, where I was a military prosecutor and a Chief of
Administrative Law from 1987 until 1992. I am married with five children, all of whom
graduated or attended school in the Washington County School District. I served as the
Chairman of the Washington County Library Board in the 1990s, assisted in passing a bond
that expanded the building of the County Library System. I was the President of the
Washington County ARC and a member of the Utah State Board of the ARC in the early
2000s. From 1994 to the present, I have been the host of Bookmarks with Terry
Hutchinson on KDXU Radio and other local radio stations. This is a twice-daily program
dedicated to promoting reading and education. I have been the primary guest host on the
local radio call-in show Open Mike on KDXU since 1995.
I am running for the Washington County School Board of Education because it is time for me
to re-enter public service and utilize my experience and talents for the benefit of the
community. Recent experiences with the School District in several instances and on behalf
of several individuals has shown that it is time for improved oversight and input from the
School Board, especially with regard to budgeting. Based on my experience, I believe I dont
need much of a period of time to get my feet wet, but can begin to contribute solutions to
the challenges facing the Washington County School District right away.
2. What kinds of experiences have you had with the Washington County School District?
All of my children have attended public schools in Washington County since 1992
and currently have a child in the system as a sophomore. I have seen various changes in the
quality and type of education and activities provided during that time. I have had various
clients come in to resolve issues involving the District and have assisted them in obtaining
positive resolutions. My wife has worked for the School District for over 20 years and I have
close observations of four principals at the High School level. I have seen what works and
what doesnt work. I have observed the Administration at the District Level in certain areas.

3. In times of budget shortfalls, prioritize where you would make budget cuts, if needed.
First, I believe that budget shortfalls often occur because of a mis-allocation of the
original funds during times of plenty. The more resources directly applied to the benefit of
the students, the more efficient the education system. Second, in budget shortfalls, I believe
that administrative costs should be kept to a minimum and that the maximum effort should
be used to protect teachers and facilities from those kind of cuts whenever possible. When
funds are limited, I believe that there are programs and efforts that are less productive that
can be scaled down or cut back. When I was with the Utah ARC, we had limited resources to
help the handicapped. We found that because there was a waiting list, the vast majority of
funds went to help a few who were the most severely handicapped. Had those funds been
better allocated, a far higher number of those with less significant needs could have been
helped and prevented from getting worse and the funds would have covered a significantly
higher number of those who needed the assistance. That is the principle I would apply in
times of budget shortfalls.
4. What do you see as the three most critical need/issues facing the Washington County School
District in the next five years: How would you begin to address these issues?
A. The most significant challenge facing the School District will continue to be
growth. I have no objection to building new facilities and providing more teachers and
providing teachers better compensation packages. Having said that, I believe that with better
resource management, teachers can be compensated even more than they already are if the
School Board gets a handle on administration. As part of dealing with the growth is an
admission that the Washington County School District is a much larger and complex entity
than it has been in the past, serving more than 25,000 students in ever increasing amounts.
The Board of Education has to do a better job of oversight to prevent wasting valuable funds
that should go to teachers, who are the front-line soldiers in dealing with this growth.
B. The changing demographic of the students is another challenge. The student of
today is different than when my children were first in school. It is incumbent on the Board to
work with current educators to put in place policies and procedures that will benefit the
students by using their technological skills and resources to improve their educations and
prepare them for practical applications of what they learn. Included in that, is the resources
to assist students to do this regardless of their economic backgrounds. As part of that, its
important to make sure that not just economic demographics for each school are considered,
but that the educational backgrounds and structures of families are spread throughout the
schools. The theory behind this is that students with a well-structured educational support
system from their families can help students who dont have that in their associations.
C. I also believe that the third greatest challenge is to ensure the prioritizing of
resources to directly benefit the students remains the priority. Once again, the Board of
Education can and must do a better job of management than they have in the past, as is
evidenced by the findings of the on-going audits (which are still not yet complete).

5. What would you do to hire/retain quality educators in Washington County School District?
Pay them better compensation packages and provide them administration at the
school level that maintains morale and support rather than depresses them and drives them to
other schools or out of education altogether.
Young teachers in particular need more money up front. They will be attracted by
that more than the retirement benefit. If they want an increased retirement benefit, they can
do more of that on their own (which current trends indicate they want to do), especially if
theyre given more resources to do it with. I think young teachers need an assurance that they
will be provided support in what theyre trying to do rather than a heavy-handed direction
that will stifle their creativity and independence. In addition, the environment in Washington
County, with its year-round opportunities for recreation and family activities will assist in
recruiting within our budgets.
6. In your opinion, is there anything Washington County School Board, District Administration,
teachers or other staff could do better?
I believe that the School Board handles the issue of growth very well. I think their
oversight of the administration at all levels of the District has not been strong and I do not
think that they interface with the community as well as they could. Their recent responses to
the publicity of the Enterprise audits has not been what one would expect. Working in
media, I know how powerful communication can be with the public. Refusing to properly
respond to public concerns brings unnecessary and negative attention to the District. There
needs to be better personal accountability. You cant excuse misconduct and dishonesty by
improving policies and increasing training. You have to promote honesty and integrity from
the very top. I especially think the Board should be more proactive in overseeing the growth
of the bureaucracy when it comes at the expense of being able to provide more direct
resources to the students and the teachers who are on the front-lines.
7. What are your current thoughts about the Dual Language Immersion programs in Washington
County?
I like the idea of Dual Language Immersion programs but the biggest thing I notice
about them is the publics apparent lack of understanding about the programs, their purposes
and their results. Callers to me on the radio often criticize the program without an apparent
knowledge of what the goal is and how it is affecting the children. I believe that more
interaction with the public at large (rather than just to the involved parents) would help. Im
glad that the programs are for Spanish and Chinese. Those are the most important languages
in our global future and preparing our young students to learn these languages gives them a
step up in the world.

8. What will you do to further support the current Dual Language Immersion programs in the
district?
I believe that my role in assisting the Dual Language Immersion programs would be
to interact with the public about them. As I mentioned above, most of the interaction Ive
heard in the media is from those who are not as knowledgeable about what were doing. As
is often the case, the loudest voices are the most believed when it comes to media and
misunderstandings about the programs, their purposes and their benefits need to be corrected.
Because of my media experience, I can be a superior advocate for these programs and
effective in obtaining more public support. I have two decades of media experience and have
managed public institutions during periods of great growth.
9. Are there any other concerns or issues you would like to share with us.
My wife has worked for the WCSD for 20 years, spending most of her time at a high
school under four different principals. Each had their own distinctive way with the students
and, through her eyes, I believe that I saw what worked and what didnt. I am a big believer
in accountability. It is the future of Washington Countys young people that is on the line, so
there is no room for excuses or failure. When our teaching is less than excellent, the student
(statistically speaking) suffers a drop in his or her lifetime income. The income drops to the
degree that we fall short and every year that occurs in the students life, it is worse. It is time
for us to do better; particularly in this uncertain time of changes in government. This is
similar to what we did in the County Library System many years ago. That was also a time
when growth was necessary but hard and new ways had to be explored to be successful. I
believe theres always a better way.
Additional information:
School Board District #3
2685 E. 1500 S.
St. George, UT 84790
435-652-1115
tlh@infowest.com