As a local school board member from Davis County, Utah, I have represented the Utah School Boards Association on the Advocates for School Trust Lands Board of Directors. I have been involved with Advocates for School Trust Lands since its inception at that first conference in Bryce Canyon.
I have been involved with trust lands in Utah since we changed the management of the lands, and I was involved in getting the legislation passed that sent Utah's earnings out to every school. That work — moving the distribution from a single line item in the general fund to a school-by-school allocation that local councils could plan against — is, in my view, the single change that made the trust visible to teachers and parents.
Advocates for School Trust Lands is a very unique organization that fills a critical need for the beneficiaries of trust lands. We are facing challenges in several states. Advocates for School Trust Lands provides educational leaders with data and resources to move forward. I look forward to working with great people trying to accomplish change that will impact generations to come.
As Board Treasurer, I help keep the organization's accounts disciplined and its finances reportable — the same fiduciary posture we ask the states to maintain over the trust itself.