Record Funding for Education in 2008
None by KCPW
(KCPW News) Public schools in Utah will see record funding increases next year, thanks to a bursting-at-the-seams state surplus."We have a budget of over $440 million for public education," says Senate President John Valentine. "The House and Senate said this would be the year we made a major investment in public education and this is a commitment we've kept."
That money includes significant raises for teacher salaries and a four percent increase in basic pupil spending, or WPU. That's two percent less than last year's boost in the WPU, because legislators are intent on making sure local districts spend the new money on teacher pay.
"The school boards are elected and have responsibility for teacher compensation, but it's good for them to hear very clearly that the legislature intends for money to get to the teachers," says Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble. "We're making a statement on how important our teachers are."
The public education budget also includes money for optional all-day kindergarten in low-income schools, 50-million dollars for computers in classrooms and 10-million for teacher supplies and materials. The budget does not include extra surplus to reduce class sizes. Rather, lawmakers will do an audit to see why money they've previously invested for smaller classes has not been used for that purpose.
Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom, Legislative Coverage, and 2007 Legislative Coverage. Copyright 2009 KCPW
1. Renee Palo said:
As an educator entering into the certified capacity, it's exciting to see our state legislature take an assertive action into the interests of our children and young adults by allocating funding for teachers and the public educational systems. Teachers do need to be well paid to keep them invested in our state and our school systems. It's the incentive for low-income schools to put budgeted monies into "all-day kindergarten". Now that's putting educational money into proper use! Our literacy education needs early intervention, and spending more time on a daily basis with kindergarteners is a great way to establish a stronger literacy understanding and use of mathemetical manipulatives. Our children need their parents and their educators to guide them into a promising future. Utah state legislature and school boards across the state are truly making great efforts to help parents and educators give their children a very positive and formative educational experience.
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