It may be summer break, but that's not stopping educators around the country from developing a sizable amount of Wyoming envy.

That includes here in Utah, where school administrators and teachers stand all amazed at what's going on next door.

In the midst of a natural gas boom, the Cowboy State, in case you haven't heard, is throwing money into public education at eye-popping rates. Some of the highlights, according to a recent Associated Press story that ran this past week in the Casper Star-Tribune, include:

• A 24 percent increase in K-12 spending that raises the per-pupil average to more than $12,400, a figure very close to New Jersey's nation-leading $12,981 (and about a Mount Everest above Utah's last-in-the-nation $5,091).

• A 22 percent increase in teachers' starting salaries to $36,000, 20 percent above the national average. (In Jackson, the school board approved $50,000 starting pay for new teachers).

• $1 billion devoted to school construction (over time).

• A $400 million endowment to fund scholarships to the University of Wyoming or one of the state's seven community colleges for every Wyoming high school graduate with at least a 3.0 grade point average and a 21 or higher score on the ACT.

"It's Christmas for Wyoming schools," said Mark Mickelsen, director of communications for the Utah Education Association. "They are certainly setting the pace for everyone else. To us here in Utah, what they're doing is inconceivable."

Despite the fact Utah's public schools got $269 million out of the Legislature this year — the largest funding increase in a decade — Mickelsen shakes his head when a state with a population a fifth the size of Utah received $1.038 billion.

"We realize people are envious of where we are right now," said Gary McDowell, president of the Wyoming Education Association. "But we shouldn't be envied; our status should be the status of everyone. If we're really committed to education and understand the role education plays in our future, it should be a top priority."

McDowell pointed out that not only does he expect that the increase in new teacher salaries in Wyoming will attract "a higher quality of applicant than we've seen in the past" but that the extra funding will allow for the hiring of more teachers, resulting in smaller classes.

"We're basing our funding on a class size K-through-5 of 16 students and 6-through-12 of 21 students," he said.

"It's stunning news," said the UEA's Mickelsen. "They've chosen in Wyoming to invest in public schools in a big way, and there can be no bad that comes from that.

"Here in Utah," the educator continued, "out of a $1 billion tax surplus this year, public schools got a 10.6 percent increase over the previous year. At the same time, the Legislature spent a 31.3 percent increase on roads. According to our polling numbers, that's just opposite what the public said they wanted to happen.

"What Wyoming is saying is what we should be saying, that public education is something we should invest in because it's only going to increase the economic growth and development of the state for all of us."

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Lee Benson's column runs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com and faxes to 801-237-2527.