Estimated read time: 2-3 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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
Some of Gov. Jon Huntsman's proposed budget cuts for fiscal year 2010 will hit education. Three to 4 percent will be slashed.
That likely means no merit pay for teachers, no increase to per-pupil spending and less money for school construction. That could mean districts will raise property taxes or limit pay raises.
Still, the governor is trying to soften the blow by chopping road projects and draining about one-third of the state's rainy day fund savings.
Education leaders are happy. They say it could have been much worse.
UEA president Kim Campbell says she's happy the governor is trying to minimize the effect of the cuts on the classroom, and that growth will be funded. "That's a huge issue when we are growing by as many students as we are in Utah, that growth is funded. Otherwise it has a huge detrimental impact on the whole system," she said.
Campbell says one of the ways to grow the economy is to invest in public schools. "We know that dollar for dollar an investment in public schools creates growth in the economy. It makes sense because we are personnel intensive, and in many counties the school district is the largest employer."
The governor recommends $3.6 billion for education out of a total state budget of $10.6 billion.
It's not just budget cuts that are putting many Utah state departments in a pocket pinch with the release of the governor's proposed budget. Lost revenue because of a weak economy means there's just less money to work with all around. Todd Hauber is the Board of Education's associate superintendent for business services. He said, "The permanent trust fund interest to local schools, that's that trust fund money. And it was estimated to receive about $26.5 million dollars this year."
But next year, the governor's expecting schools will get about $6.5 million less. It's up to each community council to decide what that reduction means for their district. In some schools, it could mean the loss of teachers' aides or other staff.
E-mail: mrichards@ksl.com
E-mail: bbruce@ksl.com
