From Deseret News archives:

Huntsman to keep up education push

Published: Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008 12:15 a.m. MST
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. plans to continue pushing for a big boost for education, even if other priorities have to be cut back.

Huntsman wants a 7 percent increase in the WPU, the state's per-student funding formula, and reiterated his support for that at a Wednesday meeting with the Utah PTA.

He said that he is still committed to that increase, even though the state's estimated surplus is $340 million less than expected, according to numbers released by the Legislative Fiscal Analyst Office earlier this week. Despite that reduction, the $613 million surplus is still the third largest in the state's history, and while it will cut into funding for some programs, education should not be one of them.

"Some priorities, no doubt, are going to be impacted," Huntsman told the parent volunteers. "One area I am holding firm is in teacher compensation," even if it requires sacrifices elsewhere.

"We will surpass the national average of teacher compensation," he said. "We can do it. We can ... do something I don't think anybody thought doable."

Story continues below
He said that this year there will likely be a $2,500 bump up on the base salaries to teachers, plus a 2 percent to 3 percent in the WPU. That would equal about a 6.6 percent WPU increase, according to the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee, which recommended those increases.

Huntsman was speaking to parent volunteers during the "PTA Day at the Legislature." He urged the volunteers to make their voices heard on Capitol Hill and in their communities, particularly to get more parents involved in their children's education.

"You have an army that can change the world," he said.

The group talked to the governor and legislators about their priorities during the lobbying day at the Capitol. Those included boosting child safety, closing the achievement gap and increasing parental involvement in schools.


E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

Image

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. address PTA members at the Capitol on "PTA Day at the Legislature." He reiterated to the group that he wants a 7 percent increase in the state's per-student funding formula.

previousnext

Latest comments

Studies have shown, over and over, that violent video games do not lead to...

Extremists on both sides? You mean the socialists and the conservatives?...

Am. Fork band to nationals?

This is a great amount of money to put forward; I don't think that anyone...

Thousands protest health bill

I've still never had anyone tell me who is going to pay for it. Why is that...

Because when Speaker Pelosi was asked she indicated that she had not read all...

1) I think everyone is over-reacting. I'm LDS, a descendant of pioneers. I...

You have hit one of the keys which is tempo. The Jazz play best when they...

This was ugly! Two Ugly Teams playing UGLY!

GOP blasts Matheson after vote

I guess this is just one more bit of evidence that the Republicans don't get...

Life sentences for juveniles examined

The crimes were serious Yes. The punishments seem excessive however given the...

Advertisements
Advertisement