There’s this bizarre disconnect in the brains of Utah voters. Every time they are asked about their top priorities, education comes in at or near the top of the list.
That inconsistency was illustrated with crystal clarity in the recent poll by The Salt Lake Tribune and Hinckley Institute of Politics, where 56 percent of voters said they opposed a measure on the November ballot to encourage an increase in the gas tax with the proceeds going toward improving Utah’s miserable education funding.
The gas tax proposal was supposed to be part of a compromise with Our Schools Now, a group of prominent Utah business leaders like Utah Jazz owner Gail Miller and Zions Bank president Scott Anderson, who contend Utah’s underfunded schools are jeopardizing the state’s workforce and future economic growth.