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SALT LAKE CITY -- The State Board of Education finalized a list of recommended programs that could be cut should state budgets be tightened this year, and the Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB) was not on it.
At a meeting last week, the board drafted a list of possible cuts that included $20 million in funding for USDB. The board decided at its Legislative meeting Thursday that if cuts are necessary, they should be made to a variety of other programs, totaling more than $50 million.
Chairwoman Debra Roberts said that while the board is no longer recommending closing the schools, it will form an ad hoc committee consisting of educators and legislators who will examine the functions and finances of USDB and look at how children are being served.
I think it's absolutely the smart thing to do. I think it gives the Board of Education an opportunity to re-look at the school.
–Steve Noyce
"This seems like the right timing to open that up," she said. "I think that's a very healthy process."
The committee will make recommendations based on their findings by June 1, so the board can discuss continued funding for the schools with the Legislature. Roberts said it's possible they'll find everything operating as it should be.
"I think it's absolutely the smart thing to do," said Steve Noyce, superintendent of USDB. "I think it gives the Board of Education an opportunity to re-look at the school."
Noyce testified at a Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee earlier this week about the early intervention work the school does for children. He said that should the schools be eliminated, districts would have to provide the services it does, and there's no way they'd be able to provide them as efficiently or thoroughly as USDB.
Noyce said that with the turnover in state board members from election to election, he's always glad to inform them of the services the school provides. What's more, studies of USDB have always been useful.
"Every time we've had a study, we've benefited from the insight we've gained," he said. "I think they'll find out that we provide critical services to children. ... I'm thrilled."
Roberts said it's important to remember the board made the budget cut recommendations at a request from the governor's office, and the board's consistent request of the Legislature is that public education be funded at the same level it was last year, with additional funding for growth.
E-mail: mfarmer@desnews.com
