Education Funding

Those helping to implement the science of reading instruction in Utah are hopeful the state will be able to get to 70% proficiency by 2027.

A new bill would require the teacher raise to go up each year by the same percentage that the state increases per-pupil funding.

Several years of pandemic restrictions and curriculum battles have emboldened longtime advocates of funneling public funds to private and religious schools in statehouses throughout the country.

It took less than two weeks for the hotly-debated bill to pass, all without the support of Democrats.

Lawmakers will also discuss school safety, teen centers and transgender students.

“This session, we will have the foresight to find lasting solutions to Utah’s and the West’s water crisis,” Senate President Stuart Adams.

Cox is drawing special emphasis on both a boost in teacher pay and statewide tax relief before the release of his full budget.

Utah Education Association’s Policy and Research Director Jay Blain said voters should look for someone who is both willing to listen to the public and work collaboratively with other board members and the school district.

Some Utah schools used federal COVID-19 relief funds to hire more staff to help students recover from the pandemic, academically and emotionally. But schools will have to find long-term funding if they want to keep the extra staff after the one-time federal funding ends in a couple of years.

“I would say all teachers use their own money at some point,” said Utah Education Association President Renée Pinkney. “I know that a lot of elementary teachers, they spend an awful lot of their own money.”

The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is now the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services. It is now taking a service-oriented approach to support all Utah residents.

The goal is to get 70% of Utah third graders reading at grade level by 2027.