Brent Strate faces Rod Hall in the 2024 Utah School Board District 3 primary

USBE incumbent Strate is being challenged by Republican Rod Hall, who did not respond to The Tribune’s request to answer questions about school board issues in the 2024 primary.

Utah State Board of Education incumbent Brent Strate is being challenged in his District 3 re-election bid by Rod Hall. The winner of the Republican primary will face Utah Forward candidate Laura Johnson this fall for the chance to represent the district that includes East Layton, Clearfield and nearby towns.

Strate originally ran for office in 2020, representing what was then District 4. The area was changed to District 3 after a statewide redistricting initiative in 2021.

That year also marked the state’s first partisan election for the State Board of Education, and Strate won the seat by defeating primary challenger K’Leena Furniss, as there was no Democratic candidate in the race.

Strate taught at South Ogden Jr. High for 10 years and Bonneville High for 20 years and previously served as a South Ogden City Council member.

Hall secured the Utah Republican Party’s nomination for the District 3 school board seat. He currently serves as an assistant pastor at Layton Baptist Church and has been a teacher for more than 10 years, according to his website.

To better understand the candidates’ positions on the issues readers told The Salt Lake Tribune were important in this primary, a reporter reached out to Strate and Hall with questions about topics from Natalie Cline’s censorship of book bans . Strate answered half of the questions, while Hall did not respond to The Tribune.

1. According to the Utah State Board of Education bylaws, board members must act “in the best interest of the state’s schools, using the powers or resources of public office to advance the public interest and not for personal gain or to pursue private interests. .”

If elected, how will you act in the best interest of Utah schools? (maximum 100 words)

Brent layer: Research shows that the number one factor in student academic success is the classroom teacher. This success is amplified by the involvement of parents. The Utah State Board of Education does not directly fund classrooms, but we influence teachers through the development of quality standards, teacher licensure and training, and good policies.

Rod Hall: No answer.

2. State school board leaders voted this year to censure board member Natalie Cline after determining that a social media post she made led to “cyber bullying” and “harassment” of a student. Do you agree or disagree with the board’s decision? Why or why not? (maximum 100 words)

Brent layer: I would make the same decision today as I did then. As a member of the Utah State Board of Education, I fully support the board’s decision. Within the options under the statute, the maximum penalty was applied. An educator who took the same action could have lost their job.

Rod Hall: No answer.

3. List what you think are the top five challenges facing public education in Utah, ranking them #1 as the most critical. (maximum 100 words)

Brent layer:

1. Connect, engage and build trust with parents, families and communities.

2. Promoting and setting the conditions for academic excellence.

3. Respect and support the teaching profession.

4. It supports transparency and accountability in education.

5. Tools and training to address student behavior.

Rod Hall: No answer

No candidate answered the following questions

For or against: Do you vote for or against the constitutional amendment eliminating the requirement that income taxes be used for education and social services?

Pros or Cons: Did you support or oppose HB29, which created a process to ban books from Utah schools statewide if at least three school districts, or at least two school districts and five charter schools, determine that it is “ objectively sensitive material?”

Yes or No: Do ​​you support policies/laws that seek to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in Utah’s K-12 public schools?