Politics & Government
State School Board candidate profiles shared
Staff Writer | Lehi Free Press
As part of our commitment to keeping voters informed, the Lehi Free Press invited candidates in contested Republican races appearing at the upcoming county convention to participate in a candidate profile by responding to the same three questions.
By asking identical questions, we aim to provide voters with a clear and consistent way to compare each candidate’s priorities, experience, and vision for our community.
Here are the questions candidates were asked:
Why are you running for public office?
What are your top priorities if elected?
What separates you from other candidates?
If any of these convention races advance to a primary election, we will provide additional coverage during the primary cycle, May through June. Contested races for the general election will be covered in the September through October timeframe.
Tracy Nuttall
I’m running for state school board because I believe that when families and the public education system work together, we unleash an amazing potential for good in our society. As a state school board member, I’ll focus on the following priorities to help our district realize that potential:
Leading and supporting our area through the Alpine School District split so our students and educators come out stronger. Throughout this transition, I’ll use my legislative experience to advocate for our district’s evolving needs both on the state board and with the Legislature.
Advocating for local control to ensure students are the focus in the classroom. Those who are closest to students best address their needs—empowering parents, teachers, and administrators is the best way to ensure the individual needs of each student are met.
Ensuring responsible use of taxpayer money in education funding. Taxpayer money should be used wisely and efficiently.
I already have the skills and experience to represent our community at the state level. As a mom of kids in public school in Alpine, I bring personal, current experience of our schools and school district. I have also worked as an attorney for the Utah Legislature where I represented legislators and drafted public education bills that were ultimately implemented by the State Board of Education. Later, I worked as a contract attorney for USBE, ensuring better access to public education laws for districts and charter schools. Under my leadership, our district won’t get lost because of a learning curve.
I am a mom of three kids in public school—currently in elementary, middle, and high school. I’ve served on our elementary school’s PTA board and several times on our school community council. I graduated from BYU Law School in 2010 and since then I’ve worked as associate general counsel for the Utah Legislature and as a contract attorney for the Utah State Board of Education. I live in Alpine with my husband and kids.
Terry L. Hutchinson
I was on the Washington County School Board from 2016-2024. The Utah State School Board didn’t do enough to support our community values and didn’t allow for options that worked for us. The State School Board also doesn’t properly prioritize parents’ rights regarding the education of their children, and they often go against the majority of voters in the State. I totally support public education and the educators, but a parents’ right to make decisions regarding their children is fundamental. If elected, my goals are: To empower local school boards to align with their communities; and to protect parent rights and improve student safety. By doing so, student learning and well-being will improve. I also want to ensure that the USBE reflects the educational values of the State of Utah and protect our future.
I’m an attorney with decades of experience in two states. I ask the hard questions and get answers. During my 8 years as a local Board member, our Board built several schools (due to rapid growth) without raising taxes, changed our building process to pay-as-you-go (saving tens of millions of dollars per year in interest); worked with the administrative system (improving its accountability to the community and increasing the quality of its new hires); protected parents’ rights and led the fight in Utah to remove inappropriate materials from our school libraries. I also responded to all my constituents and their issues.
My wife and I both grew up in Alpine and graduated from American Fork High. We have five children and nine grandchildren. I served in the Army and practiced law in Utah and Nevada for more than three decades. I have served on the Washington County Library Board for eight years and was elected twice to the Washington County School Board before returning to Alpine, where our parents still live.
