Ok, so Utahns, in general, really like their quality of life here in the Beehive State.

That much we know from any number of studies and/or anecdotal observations.

But Utah does have problems – as well as many great opportunities. And it is going to take considerable effort and common determination to fix the “bad” things and keep the “good” things.

So a group of leading Utahns was told Wednesday in a downtown seminar highlighting a new Utah Foundation/Intermountain Health Care study on – you guessed it – Utah’s quality of life.

You can read the whole study here. And it is worth the time, as you find out some items that you probably already knew (or believed), but also problem areas that you didn’t realize (or just ignored).

A key finding: Utahns rank personal and societal safety as very important. And, better yet, they do feel safe in their homes and communities and, thus, think Utah is a great place to raise a family.

A big downside: Utahns rank education as one of a place’s most important elements. But, unfortunately, they don’t think Utah has a very good public education system.

Residents recognize that our schools are underfunded, overcrowded and aren’t providing students with the education skills they need and want, so says Morgan Lyon Cotti, Utah Foundation senior research analyst who worked on the extensive study.

From a political point of view, the new study will provide public education advocates – especially Democratic lawmakers – with yet another objective analysis that shows the Utah Legislature (controlled by Republicans for more than 40 years) is falling down on the education front.

Three Democratic lawmakers were at Wednesday’s meeting.

Several weeks ago, Democrats held a press conference to say that they will present a broad range of bills in the 2012 Legislature aimed at better funding, better managing, Utah’s public education system. They are short of specifics at this date, but said their package will include both reforms and financing elements.

And, most likely, that package will be the backbone of the minority party’s 2012 election platform, both in gubernatorial and legislative races.

David Doty, Canyons School District superintendent, gave a boatload of depressing educational facts, all pointing to the realization that the state’s 41 school districts aren’t preparing many children for a college education.

The study shows, said Doty, who holds both JD and PhDs, citizens “rank Utah public schools as very important” in the quality of life, “but unfortunately relatively low in quality.”

Last spring, the Canyons gave every 11^th grader the ACT, a college level entrance exam. It was the first time any district had done that.

And the results were sobering.

The Canyons district is in southeastern Salt Lake County, one of the wealthiest, upscale areas of the state, where many parents have college degrees or advance degrees and who would expect their children to be prepared to attend college.

At the baseline “prepared for college” testing level, only 60 percent of the Canyon 11^th graders were ready in English, 38 percent in math, 53 percent in reading and 28 percent in science, said Doty.

“Those were the numbers of students who were to go to college and take a freshman class in those subjects and pass the class” with at least a C- grade.

“It was a reality check. It’s clear we have to start at kindergarten and go all the way up” in better preparing Utah school kids.

He said that Utah Valley University agreed to help the Canyons review entering freshmen who graduated from a Canyons high school. And 52 percent of those UVU freshmen had to take remedial math courses – they weren’t ready to take even the most basic college math class, yet they were graduates of some of the best high schools in the state.

The study measured what some Utah educators already believed, “There is an eroding of public confidence in our public school system,” said Doty.

At the end of the presentation, Rep. Patrice Arent, D-Holladay, asked Doty what the Legislature could do, now, to help K-12 students get ready for college.

Doty didn’t ask for more tax dollars, although that would aid.

Instead, he said, first, raise the high school graduation standards, not just in the number of courses (some public education critics say many seniors waste their last year because they already have enough credits to graduate), but the type of courses required.

Second, “examine our tax structure to make sure public education funding is sustainable. Look at our growth numbers. If we continue what we’re doing, the lowest per pupil spending in the nation, it will have severe consequences over the next 20 to 30 years.”

And give school administrators “more flexibility at the local level – the way I deal with teachers and curriculum.”

Is merit pay for teachers and administrators the answer?

“The research is mixed,” said Doty. One can measure reading and math teacher outcomes through tests. But how do you measure the effectiveness of a P.E. or art teacher? And what about the teacher who just happens to get all the tough students, compared to the teacher who gets all the college-ready students in her class?

“Give me better control over my workforce,” said Doty. It can take more than two years to fire a bad teacher, if that person goes through all of the now-present termination appeals processes, he said.

“None of you in private business would ever tolerate that,” he said.

And local districts should have the power to pay teachers in high demand areas, like science and special needs, better salaries to recruit and keep them.

“We need to have a conversation in this state about how the schools are run,” he said.

Gregory Poulsen, senior vice president and chief strategy officer for Intermountain Health Care, said he was not surprised that the study shows Utahns think that health care is important, and they think they have good health care – and so it is a high quality of life issue.

Utahns are a healthy bunch, by and large. That’s because most of them are members of the LDS Church, which bans members from smoking and drinking alcohol.

But Utahns are still facing some of the same health concerns as in other states. And, he said, one of the best places to learn, and learn, and learn about healthy living is at school and work.

“Remember, you spend more than five hours a day, five days a week, in school (if you are young) and more than that at work (if you are older).

“You spend a few minutes a year with your doctor, who may tell you to eat better and exercise more. And if you are like me, you remember that for a day to two,” said Poulsen.

But if you are reminded time and again in school or work about a healthy lifestyle, and encouraged to do something about it, that can really make a difference, he said.

“We can’t hide our heads in the sand” anymore, said Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce president Lane Beattie, a former president of the Utah Senate. 

“We must address education. Let’s stop complaining that we don’t have any more money. I don’t care. Either we shut the door” on trying to run a high-level public education system in the state, “or we get the right thing done. And education and (creating) jobs is to do the right thing.”