SOUTH SALT LAKE — Gubernatorial candidate Scott Matheson Jr. wants to sift through state spending and tax exemptions to find cash for public schools.

But if that doesn't do the trick, the Democrat and University of Utah professor and law school dean would not rule out a tax increase.

"We're not proposing a tax increase at this time," Matheson said Monday in unveiling plans to improve public schools. "Am I taking a no new taxes pledge? No. To be fiscally responsible, you need to have all the options at your disposal."

Matheson and his running mate, state Sen. Karen Hale, D-Salt Lake, will unveil plans for health care, water, economic development and other policy issues in the coming weeks. But the pair first chose to roll out education plans under the backdrop of a Granite Park Junior High classroom.

"Our campaign is about education," Matheson said. "Education drives our economy. The future of Utah is in our children's hands, and the quality of their education is in ours."

Money for schools is a hot topic in Utah, where residents are taxed at relatively high rates but children receive the lowest per-pupil funding in the country. Utah's class sizes are the nation's biggest. And the state expects to enroll some 145,000 new students in public schools — which currently enroll almost 500,000 children — over the next decade.

Public schools are doing well, Matheson said. But their situation could be improved.

Matheson says public schools receive 47.6 percent of state revenues. He wants to increase that to a 50 percent share, or by $89 million, without raising taxes.

He would put state agencies on the Matheson CARB — Cut All Redundant Bureaucracy — Diet. He would appoint an commission to review state spending, identify duplication and waste, and recommend budget cuts and cost-saving reforms. Public school leaders would conduct a similar review.

He would require justification for tax exemptions, which he says exceed $500 million in foregone revenue.

He would boost tax collection resources.

And he would campaign with other Western state leaders to increase federal payments "in lieu of taxes" on federal lands.

Matheson's education plan also includes: a twice-yearly citizens education roundtable; calls to invest in early childhood literacy; better teacher starting salaries and smaller classes; and expanding arts and music programs and private partnerships.

He would fight No Child Left Behind's "bad aspects" with help from Utah congressmen but not forgo the program or its $106 million in federal funding.

He does not support tax credits for private school tuition, which he worries "may take resources away from public education" and "send the wrong message to our educators and our parents." Rather, he prefers more choices in regular public and charter schools.

The plan is available at www.mathesonforgovernor.com/issues.htm

Matheson faces Republican Jon Huntsman Jr. in November. Huntsman's five-point education plan rests on the economy: Improve that, and more money will naturally flow to schools, Huntsman campaign manager Jason Chaffetz said. For more information visit www.votehuntsman.com.

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