Only 32% of Americans are satisfied with K-12 education, a Gallup poll released Tuesday, Sept. 8, found. The figure is the lowest in the survey's 27-year history.

Satisfaction has dropped 11 percentage points in two years. Two-thirds of respondents, 67%, said they were completely or somewhat dissatisfied.

Utah State Superintendent of Public Instruction Molly Hart responded the same day in a statement to the Deseret News, outlining three priorities for the Utah State Board of Education (USBE): integrating AI guidance for teachers, shifting standards away from rote memorization toward problem-solving, and expanding career and technical education (CTE) pathways.

Hart said confidence in schools is rebuilt locally by supporting teachers, partnering with families and keeping the focus on student outcomes.

For Granite School District families in Millcreek, the national numbers land alongside local pressures and standout programs. Skyline High School ranked No. 2 in Utah on U.S. News and World Report's 2026–27 list of best public high schools, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Aug. 18. Skyline offers Advanced Placement, Concurrent Enrollment and International Baccalaureate programs.

The district is also watching enrollment shrink. Superintendent Ben Horsley told the board at its March 31 meeting that "enrollment numbers are not going to improve, and a plan is desperately needed," according to board minutes. Board President Nicole McDermott presided over that session, which reviewed projected enrollment for the 2026–27 school year.

Hart's CTE priority already has a footprint in the district. The Granite Technical Institute, which opened in 2005, offers programs in health science, engineering, information technology, biotechnology, aviation, agriculture and culinary arts to students in grades 7–12. Students travel from their home schools for two-period blocks of hands-on training.

The Gallup poll surveyed 1,200 adults in August 2026 across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Parents of current K-12 students were more positive than the general public: 66% reported satisfaction with their oldest child's education. That parent figure is still nearly 10 points below the rate from a year earlier.

Gallup senior education researcher Zach Hrynowski told The Associated Press, as reported by the Deseret News, that the results reflect broader frustration with institutions. "People have a general negative vibe about everything in the country right now," Hrynowski said.

Neither Horsley nor McDermott has publicly commented on the Gallup poll. Hart's USBE statement pointed to CTE pathways and industry partnerships as the next front, a strategy Granite District families can already see at the Technical Institute on Salt Lake City's west side.