Terry Hutchinson, Republican Nominee for State School Board District 11, Emphasizes Parents’ Rights, Library Accountability and Local Control

Terry Hutchinson, the Republican nominee for Utah State Board of Education District 11, told the Utah County Republican Party podcast he is running because state-level recommendations too often “don’t match the values of our community” and because local boards need stronger support and accountability.

Hutchinson framed three “red lines” that would justify state or board intervention: parents’ rights, student safety and student achievement. “Parents rights, student safety, and student achievement,” he said, naming them as the limits where local control should yield to broader action. He said local boards should have as much authority as possible unless those rails are crossed.

The candidate described his record in Washington County, where he spent eight years on a local school board and led efforts on library and special‑needs advocacy. He credited a legislative change sponsored by Representative Ken Ivory for enabling districts to treat library collections as part of curriculum — a change Hutchinson says makes it legally easier to remove “sensitive materials” that meet the statute’s definition of pornography.

Hutchinson warned that many books enter school libraries through vendor services, donations or publisher channels, making oversight difficult. “Putting a book into the school library has to meet the same standard as it would as if it came out,” he said, arguing for accountability for librarians and service providers who add materials.

On COVID-era decisions, he said state guidance and legal-defense practices left smaller districts exposed: if the state recommended masking and refused to defend districts that diverged, under-resourced boards were effectively forced to follow state direction rather than local choices.

Fiscal stewardship and alternatives to bond-dependent building were a recurring theme. Hutchinson described moving his former district away from large bonds to financing approaches that he says saved taxpayers “literally $12 million a year.” He also highlighted a career-technical high school his district built for about $30 million as an example of targeted investment that boosted graduation and employment outcomes.

On curriculum disputes, Hutchinson pointed to third-grade math instruction as an example where higher-education recommendations and local preferences diverge. He said local boards should be able to choose instruction that works locally while remaining within legal constraints.

Asked about school-choice programs, Hutchinson said taxpayer funds require accountability. Regarding the Utah Fits All scholarship and ACE contract, he said, “If you’re going to take the state money, then you need to be more accountable in how you’re spending it,” while also acknowledging that homeschool families who decline public funds should be treated differently.

Hutchinson expressed support for the statewide bell-to-bell phone ban and argued for an approach to AI literacy that teaches core skills first and then requires students to show the step-by-step AI prompts used to produce an answer. He said such policies need frequent review because the technology evolves rapidly.

He contrasted his hands-on local governance experience with his primary opponent’s background as a contract attorney and staff-level legislative drafter, arguing that his record of enacting policy, holding administrators accountable and engaging voters distinguishes him. He also pledged to pursue clearer public vote reporting at the state board level, citing user‑interface and software-contract problems that now make roll-call records harder to find.

Hutchinson closed by urging county delegates and listeners to contact his campaign for help with signature-gathering, cottage meetings and donations; his campaign website is listed as hutchforschool.org.

The interview did not record any formal board votes or policy changes; it was a campaign-style candidate interview that summarized Hutchinson’s positions and examples from his local governance experience.