Candidate, State Board of Education, District 1 · Democratic
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Campaign portrait via vote4cathy.com. Photo: vote4cathy.com campaign site (photographer uncredited) · Copyright retained by rights holder · vote4cathy.com campaign site
Campaign portrait via vote4cathy.com. Photo: vote4cathy.com campaign site (photographer uncredited) · Copyright retained by rights holder · vote4cathy.com campaign site
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Cathy Callow-Heusser is a candidate for State Board of Education, District 1. The ballot lists Cathy Callow-Heusser, Democratic. The district covers all or part of Box Elder, Cache, Morgan, Rich and Summit counties.
Cathy Callow-Heusser's campaign describes a career spanning software engineering, classroom instruction, literacy coaching, instructional design and program evaluation. It says she worked at Utah State University's Center for Persons with Disabilities before moving further into education. [1]
Her biography lists teaching at Cache High School, Bear River Middle School and Utah State University, including leadership of developmental mathematics and statistics at USU. It also describes work coordinating the Utah Multi-Tiered System of Supports at USBE and coaching educators in Utah, tribally affiliated schools and Alaska. [1]
She lists a computer-science bachelor's degree from the University of Utah and graduate degrees in instructional technology and education research and evaluation from Utah State University. These career and education details come from her campaign biography. [1]
Public-school funding and learning support
Callow-Heusser says money designated for public education should stay in public schools, including public charter schools. Her biography emphasizes structured literacy, support for students with disabilities and attention to learners affected by poverty. Those are her stated priorities and account of her professional focus. [1]
Her campaign's issue page identifies school funding, private-school scholarship spending, artificial intelligence, challenged books, bullying and school closures as subjects she wants voters to consider. The page poses questions about those issues; its headings alone should not be interpreted as detailed policy commitments. [2]
Her October 2026 questionnaire answers
In the Salt Lake Tribune's October 12 questionnaire, Callow-Heusser identified funding as the biggest challenge, opposed using public money for private-school vouchers and criticized a statewide approach to removing books. She argued that schools should be safe places for children regardless of immigration status. [3]
She opposed third-grade retention and supported a bell-to-bell cellphone ban in the survey's yes-or-no questions. These answers describe her campaign positions, not actions she has taken as an elected state board member. [3]
District 1 and the state board
Callow-Heusser is challenging incumbent Republican Jennie Earl for District 1. The Tribune identifies the district as including parts of Cache, Rich, Box Elder, Summit and Morgan counties. [3]
The state board sets statewide core requirements, while local education agencies choose curriculum and design programs under USBE rules. A candidate's views about reading instruction and books therefore touch both state policy and local responsibilities. [4]
From the campaign website
The campaign website describes Cathy Callow-Heusser as an educator, instructional coach and evaluator who spent 10 years as a software engineer at Utah State University's Center for Persons with Disabilities before earning education degrees. The site lists a bachelor's degree in computer science (Utah, 1984), a master's in instructional technology (USU, 1996) and a doctorate in education research and evaluation (USU, 2011). [5]
The site says Callow-Heusser has taught at Cache High School, Bear River Middle School and USU, including as director of developmental math and statistics, and worked for the State Board of Education as coordinator of the Utah Multi-Tiered System of Supports. The site says public money should stay in public education, including charter schools, and that no public funds should go to private school choice. [5]
This is the candidate's own campaign material, condensed by The Utah Ledger and not independently checked. [5]
Profile sources
Profile refreshed October 30, 2026. Candidate statements describe the candidate's own experience or positions; official records and reporting are labeled separately.
