Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is investing more in children, but funding has yet to reach pre-recession levels.
"We envision the day when all Utah children will thrive, the day when all Utah children will be able to achieve their God-given potential," said Matthew Weinstein, state priorities partnership director at the nonprofit, Voices for Utah Children. He said lawmakers need to prioritize better for the future and spend more in areas that impact "Utah's most precious resource," as stated in the 2015 Utah Children's Budget report.
"The additional upfront investment in children will pay for itself," Weinstein said.
Strides have been made in health care for Utah kids, as well as in early childhood education, but "we have quite a ways to go," said Curtis Miller, a University of Utah master's student and professor of statistics who compiled the report. He said 90 percent of what is spent on Utah children is funneled through the public education system, with the remainder of taxpayer dollars spent on child health care, the juvenile justice system and various welfare programs.
Miller said that even though the state's economy has recovered from the Great Recession, the portion of the state's budget spent on kids in fiscal year 2014 was still 6 percent below what it was in 2008. A $322-per-child gap still exists, requiring an additional $293 million to make up for it.
Despite always landing dead last in per-pupil spending, Utah turns out middle- to above-average students and middle- to above-average test scores, Weinstein said, crediting parental involvement and volunteerism in schools.
"Utah has the strongest families in the country. Utah has the highest rate of two-parent families and the highest rate of voluntarism, which allows us to be at the bottom in terms of input, but around the middle for educational outcomes," he said.
The state expends more than $4.4 billion for K-12 education in Utah, in addition to about $430 million from federal sources, still down from 2008 levels. To meet Idaho's per-pupil spending, Utah would have to increase funding by $144 million.
But, if current trends continue, the report states, Utah is on track to leave last place in per-pupil spending and pass Idaho, which is ranked 49th, when new U.S. Census data is released next year.
Health programs for children is the only area that has received large increases in funding between 2008 and 2014, a change of about 45 percent over the years, exceeding adjustments for population growth.
The state spends $178 million in addition to $440 million in federal dollars for programs that help children with special needs, the Children's Health Insurance Program, Medicaid, Baby Your Baby, and maternal and child health and immunization programs.
Miller said the additional funding for health programs is good, but "there's always room for improvement," adding that Voices for Utah Children supports expansion of Medicaid, which would potentially harness more tax dollars for local use.
A growing number of Utah children are enrolled in the school lunch program, which is funded by the state's liquor tax and provides children in need with free or reduced price breakfasts and/or lunches throughout the year. In fiscal year 2014, the program provided more than 38 million meals to Utah children.
Weinstein said investments in food programs don't keep pace with poverty rates, which have grown over the years, along with the number of homes that are "food insecure."
The state is investing in early childhood education, which Weinstein said provides a great benefit in the long-run. But he said Utah officials could do more to be sure that every child gets prepared for school in order to succeed there.
"People ask if we invest more in children, how will we pay for it?" he said. But Weinstein pointed out that Utah's tax burden is at "a 20-year low," with many taxes cut in the last generation.
"The good side of that is that everyone likes having more money in their pockets, but we've invested less than other states in our future prosperity," Weinstein said. Additional investment, he said, will likely lead to a future decline in social dysfunction, crime and substance abuse issues, which is costly to society.
"We strongly feel these investments do pay for themselves in the long run," he said.
The local organization plans to distribute its report to lawmakers and anyone else who is interested in making a difference. It can also be found online at www.utahchildren.org. Weinstein said the group will lobby for more funding in three areas deemed by them as top priority, including K-12 education, expansion of pre-kindergarten programs and school readiness, as well as pushing for a continuous 12-month Medicaid eligibility window for children.
