Utah approved for $101 million for education jobs

SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday that Utah will receive $101 million in stimulus funding geared toward teachers' jobs, despite earlier controversy over whether the state should apply for it and ongoing questions about exactly how much school districts will have to spend.

Utah submitted its application last week, one of the first states to do so, said Education Secretary Arne Duncan in a news release.

The national $10 billion education fund is designed to support education jobs in the 2010-11 school year.

Though Utah's amount is just 1 percent of the total funding, it could benefit 1,400 to 1,500 teachers, according to state estimates, up to 1,800 teachers, according to federal estimates.

But officials in the Utah State Office of Education have cautioned school districts to be wise about allocating the funding.

"The only caution we've given is that it's one-time in nature," said Todd Hauber, the state's associate superintendent of business and operations.

The money has to be spent on compensation, Hauber said.

Some districts might choose to reduce the number of furlough days planned to save money, others might restore quality teaching days or professional development days.

"Here's money we can very much use if we use it wisely," Hauber said.

Provo School District had planned to offer half-day kindergarten this year, but moved forward with its goal to increase kindergartners' time in the classroom by providing full-day classes when Congress approved the jobs bill.

Principals and teachers all understand that should the Legislature reject that plan, the district will revert back to a half-day schedule, said district spokesman Greg Hudnall, likely at the end of the semester.

Legislative leaders have warned that school districts may only end up with half of Utah's share set aside to pay teachers, thanks to a $50 million budget shortfall.

They sent a letter to each of Utah's school districts spelling out the $50 million shortfall the state is facing in the current budget year that began July 1 could mean a cut in state funds for education.

"They just might be surprised," Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, told the Deseret News in early September. "If they're counting on their percentage of the $101 million, it might be half that."

Earlier, dozens of legislators initially opposed accepting the funding.