Randy Boothe // Republican // Utah State School Board District 13

  • How have the arts, culture, and/or humanities impacted your life?
    • I have worked in the visual and performing arts my entire career. As former Associate Dean in the College of Fine Arts and Communications at Brigham Young University, I served on the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Advisory Board. I also enjoyed serving on the Utah Arts Collective Impact Steering Committee. Every facet of my life has been enriched and refined by my engagement with the visual and performing arts.
  • Utah's humanities and arts employ 123,000 Utahns, provide $4.4 billion in earnings, and $13.2 billion in sales. This is a larger economic impact than agriculture, mining, and real estate. Do you consider the arts and cultural sector an economic driver in Utah?
    • Yes
  • Fiscally responsible government investment in the arts and humanities (including humanities and arts education) means to me:
    • Citizens in the State of Utah need the full support of our legislature in the further development and support of the arts throughout the state. With anticipated growth, there should be increased support to provide the environment that will welcome the new population coming here from other parts of the country.
  • Items of Business I support:
    • Credit requirements for participation in the arts and humanities should be increased
    • K-6 Students should have increased exposure to arts and humanities education
    • 7-12 Students should have increased exposure to arts and humanities education
    • I support the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program which puts one arts specialist in most elementary schools
    • I support the POPS (Professional Outreach Program in the Schools) which sends 13 professional arts organizations to all UT school districts
    • I support the iSEE (Informal Science Educational Enhancement) which sends 10 professional science, zoological, and natural history organizations to all UT school districts
    • I support increasing funding for arts education with property tax
    • I support increasing funding for humanities and social sciences education with property tax
    • I support working to increase funding for arts and humanities education.
  • How would you expand participation in the arts and humanities amongst all students?
    • I have encouraged arts integration at the elementary level in all content areas in order to engage those students who might not choose arts instruction on their own; however, arts integration is NOT enough. Guest artists in the schools, field trips to concerts and museums, POPs visits, arts assemblies, and a fully developed arts curriculum needs to be encouraged and supported in every school so that every child can experience every art.
  • Anything else we should know about you?
    • I have worked for the arts with great enthusiasm for the past 43 years. Now that I am retiring in August, I expect to work even more throughout the state to encourage arts experiences for Utah's children.