Despite voting the bill down last month, the Utah House of Representatives reconsidered and passed a bill allowing school districts to sell and display advertising on school buses today.
Utah lawmakers on a committee that oversees education funding were deadlocked this morning after spending two hours trying to decide where in the education budget to fit $91 million in unallocated money. Lawmakers trimmed the budget by $173 million, but are going back to fill in some holes.
Utah’s schools will have to teach that the United States is a constitutional republic, if a bill passed by the House of Representatives this morning becomes law. Republican Representative Mike Morley, a member of the highly conservative Patrick Henry Caucus, is sponsoring the legislation.
Republican Senator Howard Stephenson claimed that the University of Utah and other public colleges and universities are handing out “degrees to nowhere,” unless they’re in science, math and engineering. We talked about that and budget cuts with Dave Buhler, Associate Commissioner for Public Affairs with the Utah System of Higher Education.
State lawmakers debated how to fund books and other resources in public school libraries Thursday. Librarians said they’d like to see the state allocate money specifically for school libraries, rather than allow each district to divvy up the funds from a $31 million pool of money.
Democrats in the Utah Legislature were united in their opposition to the 2012 public education base budget approved in both the Senate and House this morning. It increases funding to accommodate more students, but as Senate Minority Whip Karen Morgan pointed out, it eliminates several educational programs.
If you don’t want the public to know how to reach you, one state lawmaker says don’t bother running for public office. Now, Republican Senator Howard Stephenson is sponsoring a bill about contact information for public officials, including school community council members.
A bill that would have allowed school districts to sell advertisement space on school buses was voted down this morning in the Utah House of Representatives. Its sponsor said it would have brought in several million dollars for schools during tough budget times.
Governor Gary Herbert is indicating he doesn’t like two proposed constitutional amendments to change how Utah’s public schools are managed.
While higher education funding in Utah may get cut during the legislative session, the Utah House of Representatives voted this morning to spend nearly $2 million dollars on a new veterinary program at Utah State University. But as KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, some lawmakers questioned whether the money should be spent on doctors learning to treat people, instead of animals.
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