By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Some of the financial changes made during the 2001 Utah
State Legislative Session will directly benefit Juab School
District.
"The Legislature has approved a 5.48 percent increase
in the weighted pupil unit with an additional increase of
approximately .6 percent to fund extra days for professional
development," said Superintendent Kirk Wright.
Also approved was a new block grant format that
combines a number of previously restricted programs into one
block grant.
"Theoretically, there will be fewer restrictions on
where the funds can be spent," said Wright.
The WPU, is used to determine district funding
allotments, Wright said. "State-wide the UEA thinks the WPU
increase is adequate but thinks the legislature could have
done better."
The UEA, in particular, does not like a bill that bars
public employees, including teachers, from having donations
to political action committees taken out of their paychecks.
The bill sailed through both houses.
Legislators presented a $2 billion budget, with a 5.5
percent WPU increase (bringing its value from $2,006 to
$2,116) and $10 million for two days' teacher training on
the state's new accountability system. The base budget
contains $147.3 million more than last year, according to
the fiscal analysts' report.
The Legislators budgeted $9.9 million to math and
science teacher recruitment and continued commitment to the
state's school accountability system.
Wright said the UEA, however, indicated they thought
there could have been more in a year with some $650 million
in extra dollars to spend.
He said the Utah State Superintendent of Public
Instruction, Steve Laing, as did his office, wanted the WPU
increase at 6 percent.
The UEA wanted the $10 million for training days
folded into the WPU to give them a 6 percent increase in the
state's basic per-student funding formula.
WPU money can be used in salary bargaining and could
allow school districts autonomy over budgets.
The idea of education block grants, new to this year's
budget, is something the board will need to consider. That's
because some items rolled into the grants used to get more
money as the WPU increased. That will no longer happen.
"Statewide there will be $5 million for class
supplies, $24 million for textbooks, and $5.6 million in
state assistance for school property tax increases," said
Wright.
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