Friday, January 4, 2013

Utah Public Education Funding

It is crucial that Utah Public Education continue to do amazingly well with the resources we have using great teachers, innovation, and technology.

Education in Utah must be and is a priority. With approx. 600,000 K-12 students in Utah, It takes a lot of commitment. Out of the $5 Billion total "State" funds we invest approx. $2.5 Billion to K-12 Public Education and approx. $750 Million to Higher Education. Even with $13 Billion to work with including "State" funds and also funds for Federal Programs and others, we invest $3.7 Billion to K-12 Public Education and $1.4 Billion for Higher Education.

With the currently available resources, Utah does not have enough money for the demands for Public Education, Transportation, Water, Public Safety, Energy and others.  Raising Taxes isn't the answer as that can create bigger government and slower economic growth. 

Teachers often do not have the supplies they need, and in most cases deserve more pay for the critical work they do. Education Funding is too complex and funding doesn’t seem to make it to the classroom.

The above numbers were based on this report. start with page 13:
http://le.utah.gov/lfa/reports/bbib/APPEXE_03-08-12_5.pdf