Adam Hahnfor our schools

Plan for the students we already have.

A brand-new East Elementary opened close to capacity. Six elementary boundaries moved this fall and four more schools change in 2027. Southwest Education Academy still runs out of five portable buildings with a waiting list. This is not a surprise. It is a planning failure we can see coming five years out if someone is reading the numbers.

What I'll do: push the district to publish a rolling five-year enrollment and facilities forecast, tied to the same residential growth data the county and city planning commissions already use. If we know where the rooftops are going, we should not be redrawing boundaries in a panic.

Iron County grew from 57,289 residents in 2020 to an estimated 67,141 in 2025. Up 17% in five years.

You get a vote on your own taxes.

The district raised property taxes in 2025 over public objection, then held rates flat in 2026. Two bonds have failed at the ballot in seven years. That is not voters being unreasonable. That is voters asking to be told the truth about what a project costs and what it actually delivers.

What I'll do: take major capital needs to the ballot with an honest number, a phased plan, and a clear answer to "what happens if this fails." Protect the taxpayer's right to vote on tax increases rather than routing around it.

The 2024 bond failed 56% to 44%. The 2018 bond failed. A district that cannot win a bond has a trust problem, not a math problem.

Make it work, or don't do it.

The board voted 4–3 in August to move to a four-day week beginning in 2027-28. I spoke at the public town halls in December 2025 and I said then what I will say as a board member: the schedule is not the goal. Student outcomes are the goal.

What I'll do: hold the district to a real implementation plan before the first short week. Friday childcare, meal access for the kids who count on school meals, support for the families the board itself acknowledged will struggle, and honest answers for teachers and bus drivers on pay and hours. And a measurement plan, so that when the state waiver comes up for renewal we can say whether this worked instead of guessing.

The waiver expires in three years. The district loses 8.22 instructional hours a year. We should know what we bought with them.

You shouldn't have to attend a Tuesday meeting to know what's happening.

The district's own September 2026 accreditation review found that communication between district leadership and parents about school improvement goals is not clear or consistent. That is an outside evaluator saying what a lot of parents already say in the pickup line.

What I'll do: a plain-language summary of every board meeting, published within 48 hours. What was decided, what it costs, and what it changes for your kid. I will also answer my own phone.

Iron County outcomes, not national politics.

Our graduation rate is 93.3%, better than the Utah average of 89.8%, and Cedar High and Canyon View both sit at 97.7%. That is our teachers doing good work under real constraints. Meanwhile we spend less per student than almost any district in the state.

What I'll do: keep the board's attention on the things that move outcomes here. Classroom tools, career and technical pathways, keeping good teachers. And off the fights being imported from somewhere else.

Iron County spends about $9,385 per student against a Utah median of $12,726. That is 38th of 41 districts. Our results are better than our funding.