Education in Salt Lake City Education in Salt Lake City Education has always been a priority in the Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1847 pioneer Jane Dillworth held the first classes in her tent for the children of the first Mormon families. By 1850 many schools had already sprung up around the valley, and there were plans for a school attached to every wardhouse. In 1851 the territorial legislature passed the first public school law creating the office of the superintendent of schools. Many large Mormon families, such as Brigham Young's, had their own schools, known as "family schools". In the last part of the
Salt Lake City by giving the LDS Church preferential treatment, while LDS residents perceived a growing anti-Mormon bias in city politics. The city's political demographics are considerably more liberal than the rest of Utah. While Utah as a whole is a strongly conservative and Republican state, Salt Lake City is considered a Democratic bastion. Since 1976, all of the city's mayors have been Democrats. The city is home to several non-governmental think-tanks and advocacy groups such as the conservative Sutherland Institute, the progressive Alliance for a Better Utah, the gay-rights group Equality Utah, and the quality-growth advocates Envision Utah. Salt Lake hosted many