News Articles

Report: Big Drop in Utah’s Education Funding Effort

June 30, 2011 (Deseret News) - Funding for education in Utah isn\’t the priority it once was, according to a report released earlier this week by a local think tank. \”In reality, Utah is not exerting a heavy effort and has not since the 1990s,\” the Utah Foundation report states.

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Report Details Significant Drop in State’s Education Funding Effort

June 29, 2011 (KCPW) - It’s already widely known that Utah spends the least amount of money per student in K-12 public education. But a new report from the Utah Foundation says on top of that, the effort put into public education funding has declined significantly since 1995. KCPW’s Jeff Robinson spoke with Steve Kroes, President of the Utah Foundation, about the report’s findings.

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Report: Decline in Utah ed funding effort is ‘unprecedented’

June 28, 2011 (Salt Lake Tribune) - The decline in Utah’s education funding effort over the past 16 years is “unprecedented,” according to a new Utah Foundation research report. The report, released Tuesday, says that Utah’s funding effort has fallen significantly since 1995, placing it 26th in the nation for the amount of money public education receives for every $1,000 in personal income. The report calls the decline “unprecedented, especially given the state’s history of high proportions of personal income dedicated to … Continued

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How do Schools Spend Your Money?

April 17, 2011 (Salt Lake Tribune) - In Utah — a state with a high proportion of children and the lowest base per-pupil spending in the nation — school funding is a perpetual concern. But its often misunderstood. Utah’s system for funding schools is a complex web of programs, formulas and terminology that can make it difficult for average Utahns to understand exactly how their tax dollars pay for education.

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Redistricting winners, losers predicted

March 23, 2011 (Salt Lake Tribune) - Population growth over the past decade should give more legislative seats to northern Utah County, southwestern Salt Lake County and Washington and Davis counties, a panel of leaders involved in redistricting said on Tuesday.

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Reining in state growth

February 19, 2011 (Deseret News) - Utah may be among the nations best managed states, and it may be poised to move forward in a recovering economy while many other states are in a prolonged crisis, but that does not mean the Beehive State could not benefit from some better rules.

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Taxes are low, but do not expect that to last long

February 13, 2011 (Deseret News) - I am guessing not many of you want to pay more in taxes, just as not many of you would volunteer for unneeded dental surgery or to use your head as a doorstop. At the same time, I am guessing not many of you think your current tax burden is too light. Taxes are to an adult what baths are to a child. No matter how little effort is involved, you would prefer to avoid … Continued

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Prosperity 2020: Education Builds the Economy

February 01, 2011 (Utah Pulse.com) - By national standards they are young and they are smart. They are the individuals that make up Utahs workforce. They are also Utahs greatest strength and most competitive advantage in terms of economic development.

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Why class size is such a big deal

January 28, 2011 (Deseret News) - Every chair in the seventh grade science classroom has a student — 32 in all sit side by side at the black lab tables, learning about cell cycles.\r\n \r\n Half of the students are on computers, while the other half are looking through microscopes. On days when all students in the integrated science class are present, another student would have his desk in the back of the classroom, along a table with a bug exhibit.

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News Analysis: Getting the message

January 23, 2011 (ksl.com) - If the 2011 Session of the Utah Legislature is typical, members will divide their labor by some percentage between the business of making sure our government is working, and making sure the world is aware of exactly where certain lawmakers stand on any number of hot-button issues.

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News analysis: Utahns do not mind sending some messages

January 23, 2011 (Deseret News) - The tendency to devote time to so-called message bills is too great a tradition to expect this or any Legislature to bypass. And interestingly, a recent poll of Utahns shows the citizens themselves are not opposed to having messages on some issues sent from Utahs Capitol Hill, directly to Washington.

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Economists See Brighter Days Ahead

January 20, 2011 (Utah Pulse.com) - Economists are optimistic about Utah’s economic future and they believe Utah is in a unique position as the nation begins to emerge from the Great Recession.

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Utah ranks 41st in nation for education

January 11, 2011 (Salt Lake Tribune) - It’s not the kind of report card you would post on the refrigerator door.\r\n \r\n Utah ranks 41st in the nation for education performance and policy, according to Education Weeks annual Quality Counts report released Tuesday, down from a ranking of 38th the previous year. The report gave Utah an overall grade of C-minus, slightly lower than the national grade of C.

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Bridging the divide: As the legislative session begins this month, the immigration reform battle heats up

January 09, 2011 (Deseret News) - It was just another immigration rally on Capitol Hill: about 80 people on both sides of the issue glared at one another from behind signs made from poster board and yardsticks. But before Rep. Stephen Sandstrom could finish, a twenty-something Latina in the back was spouting off snarky comments and the Utah Minutemen were going red in the face. By the time the microphones were turned off, the Utah Highway Patrol had to step in … Continued

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Do not tinker with tax law

December 15, 2010 (Deseret News) - The State Board of Education believes Utah needs more money to handle its ever-growing population of public school students. We agree, although there is room to quibble over exact dollar amounts.

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Utah Foundation Report on Intermountain Power Project

December 06, 2010 (Utah Policy.com) - The Utah Foundation has posted a research report on the economic impact of the Intermountain Power Project, concluding that the contribution IPP is projected to make to the state, both today and through 2026, makes it an important mainstay in the economy.

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Former Utah governor on mission to improve education

November 11, 2010 (ksl.com) - Former Utah Governor Olene Walker is taking a stand for public education and wants Utahns to worry as much as she is about the path the system is on. Walker is calling for major changes in the face of serious funding challenges, and she knows all too well it\’s an uphill battle.

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Panel offers strategies to boost Utah education

October 27, 2010 (Salt Lake Tribune) - For weeks, educators, parents and policymakers have been buzzing about a report that showed Utah schools do not stack up well against those in demographically similar states. On Tuesday, a panel of Utah education leaders discussed the report and offered possible strategies for improvement.

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Researchers Say Utah Education Service Must Improve

October 27, 2010 (Mid-Utah Radio.com) - School test results in Utah definitively confirm Utah students can perform better according to research conducted by the Utah Foundation. Now, the matter at hand is finding out how the states education can be improved while the only holdup at this stage is a shortage of money.

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