Changes to Utah’s tax rates and structure as well as the allocation of revenue dedicated to public schools has meant a decline in funding effort for K-12 education in Utah.
A new report released today by Utah Foundation, an independent, non-partisan public policy research group, shows the funding effort – defined as dollars spend for K-12 education per $1,000 of personal income – has dropped from 7th place in the nation in 1995 to 37th place among the states today.
While the actual dollars appropriated for K-12 education in Utah have risen, this new funding has often been barely enough to cover the growing student population and inflation. There has been relatively little left over for improvements in educational programs – about $22 million per year over the past five years.
