Tony Zani // Unaffiliated // Utah State School Board District 11

  • How have the arts, culture, and/or humanities impacted your life?
    • I am a teacher. I see how the arts and humanities bring joy to the students. They become more open, more creative, more in tune with themselves. Students learn so much about the world by experiencing the arts and culture.
  • 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:
    • No answer given
  • 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?
    • Arts and humanities need to be expanded in all Utah schools by funding more licensed teachers at all levels. Arts and humanities are a way to build students’ knowledge of the world. We learn so much about history and science as we learn about and experience arts and culture. Increased funding and increased expectations for student coursework in the arts and humanities is critical.
  • Anything else we should know about you?
    • I am a National Board-Certified Teacher. I specialize in literacy instruction and I know the very special relationship between the arts and literacy.