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Gov. Herbert Proposes Increased Education Spending

utahpubliceducation.org

During his State of the State address to a joint session of the state legislature Wednesday, Gov. Gary Herbert announced his plans to work with educators and officials to create a 10-year education plan for Utah. Herbert claimed that his plan would tie public education money to specific objectives.

Herbert called for an increase in state education funding which, he said, would be the largest such increase in a quarter of a century.

“We have the means to increase our education investment by approximately $500 million in new money,” he said. “That would be the largest true increase in student funding for public education in 25 years, raising the total of new money going to education over the past four years to $1.3 billion. This session we should continue our collective efforts to give our students and teachers the financial support that they need to succeed.”

According to Herbert, the plan will call for Utah to rank among the top 10 states in the nation in terms of graduation rates, ACT scores, and math and reading levels.

The Governor also touched on education funding during his address. Herbert spoke about the need to allow school boards and administrators to use the funds where they feel it is needed most. He said this would give educators a variety of options.

“Whether that means raising teacher salaries, hiring more teachers to reduce class sizes, investing in more technology, increasing the number of guidance counselors, or addressing a variety of other high priority needs–with appropriate accountability measures in place, local school districts and charter schools should be in control of those decisions,” he said.

It is not clear yet when any definitive plan will be presented.