School board making hefty requests

The State Board of Education is forwarding some initial, big-ticket budget requests to the governor's office, including a 6 percent boost to per-student dollars and all other basic educational programs.

The preliminary budget request, which the board approved Friday, seeks about $137 million for those increases, plus $28 million to cut math and literacy class sizes by one student in every grade. It also seeks $7.5 million for optional full-day kindergarten programs, an initiative backed by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., and $7.2 million to help parents prepare their preschoolers for kindergarten, for which Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, has requested a bill.

The request will go to the Governor's Office this month, but the total budget request will not be tallied until November, after the state has a grasp of this year's enrollment, the basis for several budget requests, state associate superintendent Patrick Ogden said.

In related news, the board took no action on a proposed alternative to a $70 million income tax cut and reform package legislators are expected to examine in special session in the coming weeks.

Said member Mark Cluff: "What chance do we have of changing (legislators') minds?"

Still, the board did express its position on the tax reform proposal: Legislators should keep schools, which the board called the best investment for a better economy, in mind as they move forward.

Income tax revenue goes to education.

The board's preliminary budget request includes:

• Growth: $47 million for new students and $15 million to cover growth in school programs, including one to boost literacy in kindergarten through third grade.

• Charter schools: $3 million for local funding growth; $7.2 million to put them on equal financial footing as regular public schools; a $5 million, one-time infusion to set up a loan guarantee fund so they can secure building loans; and $550,000 to help new schools get started.

• $6.7 million to hire more teachers to help children learning English.

• $2.5 million one-time to fill in a gap in ongoing money for the kindergarten through third-grade reading program.

• $1.5 million to hire certified teacher librarians and $4 million to stock libraries.

Other matters were addressed but not added to the budget.