EDUCATION

Basic Funding

More than half of this year's new money went to fund public education.  Public schools received $441 million, with $100 million in a savings account in case the economy goes south.

SB 2, Minimum School Program Budget Amendments, by Sen. Howard Stephenson, an omnibus bill that combined more than a dozen education bills into one, was hotly debated before it passed. Some didn’t like the idea of the bundled bills but it included the nearly $2.5 billion in school funding ($2,497,012,086, to be exact), including a 2.5% increase in the WPU – increasing it to $2,577 – and a $1,700 raise for teachers. This represents a 19% pay increase for teachers over the past three years.

In addition to the basic school funding, SB 2 also included:

• $2.9 million to provide up to $600 stipends for special educators' extra work

• $6.9 million to let math and science teachers work year-round
• $5 million to give $4,100 in extra salary to math, science and technology teachers by creating an optional grant program through the creation of USTAR Centers
• $3.5 million to give software to families to prepare preschoolers for kindergarten called UPSTART
• $100,000 to offset International Baccalaureate program costs
• Changes to how charter schools are funded, essentially replacing some state funding with school district money
• a $25 million, one-time deal to bring the WPU equivalent to a 6% increase
• changes in requirements regarding instructional materials
• a financial and economic literacy passport to track student mastery of certain concepts
• a Teacher Salary Supplement Program to provide a salary supplement to an eligible teacher
• stipends for special educators for additional days of work
• the High-ability Student Initiative Program to provide resources for educators to enhance the academic growth of high-ability students
• the English Language Learner Family Literacy Centers Program
• a career and technical education online assessment
• one-time appropriations for pupil transportation to and from school
• one-time appropriations for the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Elementary Arts Learning Program to provide grants to integrate arts teaching and learning into selected schools
• one-time appropriations for classroom supplies

Capital Equalization

SB 48, Equalization of School Capital Outlay Funding, by Sen. Dan Eastman, attempted to address the statewide equalization question. Equalization came to the forefront when Jordan's east side seceded, taking more than half the district's tax base and fewer than half the students with it.

The bill establishes a statewide building equalization program that will require that the established four school districts in Salt Lake County – Murray, Salt Lake City, Granite, and the east-side Jordan districts – give some of their taxpayer dollars to the new Jordan West School District so the growing district can build new schools. It does so by extending the now $42 million Capital Outlay fund to every school district — except tax-base rich Park City — pulling 15 school districts into the program with a minimum $50,000 to build facilities or make repairs. Salt Lake County districts must pool their tax dollars to give $12.2 million to the new west-side Jordan District, which needs about $800 million worth of school buildings over the next ten years. These districts will then have to raise taxes to make up for the losses.

In reality, the bill didn't address the statewide equalization question. Instead, most school districts will be subsidized. True “equalizaton” will only occur in Salt Lake County school districts. Several legislators wanted to equalize property taxes statewide, but an attempt to do so failed. Many legislators noted, however, that the countywide equalization in Salt Lake County is a first step toward a statewide program.

Salt Lake City loses the most money under the bill — $6 million. Superintendent McKell Withers has already asked the governor to veto the bill.

Other Education Issues

HB 284, Utah College of Applied Technology Revisions, by Rep. Kory Holdaway, did not pass. It would have merged the Tooele ATC and the Salt Lake ATC with Salt Lake Community College. Instead, the merger will be studied in the interim. Meanwhile, SLCC will continue to compete with the Salt Lake andTooele ATCs for career and technical education enrollment.

SB 162, Federal Education Agreement Requirements, by Sen. Margaret Dayton, passed. It requires gubernatorial, Legislative Management Committee, legislative approval for certain federal education agreements that implement federal programs (such as “No Child Left Behind)” and authorizes the governor or the Legislature to void federal education agreements lacking proper approval.

SB 180, Regents' Scholarship Program, by Sen. Lyle Hillyard, passed. It creates the Regents' Scholarship Program to award merit scholarships to students who complete a rigorous core course of study in high school. However, the bill provided only $500,000 in funding.