Teacher compensation will be the top budget priority and may include rewarding teachers — and principals — for hard work and innovation, Huntsman said. "I think it will go some distance in attracting the next generation of teachers," Huntsman said, noting a growing teacher shortage.

Other education priorities include:

• Better linking of K-12 public education to colleges and universities. Huntsman praised the Utah Science and Technology Research Initiative (USTAR) and said his office would "drive very, very aggressively" the idea of year-round contracts for math and science teachers, with the aim of helping curb a shortage by extending work and pay for those professionals. With a separate appropriation, Huntsman hopes to pilot a new initiative pushing intensive math and science opportunities for students from middle school through college.

• Testing reform: Huntsman said too many state-required tests tell too little about what's going on in schools, and he wants to measure students against a different, perhaps more international standard. A blue-ribbon panel that already has been appointed will recommend in the coming year how to streamline testing.

"We recognize and understand how important education is," said Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert. More than 50 percent of the budget goes to education every year, and that reflects the direction education is going in Utah. "But we're still not where we need to be."

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Contributing: Wendy Leonard

E-MAIL: jtcook@desnews.com; bbjr@desnews.com