It appears lawmakers are targeting a boost in public education funding this year close to $170 million. That includes fully funding next year’s student growth and a boost in the WPU of just over 4 percent.
According to the priority funding list from the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee, legislators are suggesting a $128 million increase in the weighted pupil unit, the basic unit of school funding. That works out to just over 4% from last year. That total is slightly higher than the 4% Governor Herbert included in his budget proposal but far less than the 5.5% increase the State Board of Education had recommended. A 1% bump in the WPU is about $31 million.
Next year’s student growth is fully funded under the recommended budget numbers. Lawmakers are proposing spending $35.7 million in ongoing funds and $4.3 million in one-time money to fund that growth. The one-time funds will be used to purchase technology to accommodate the growth in students utilizing online education.
That $170 million increase will impact the state’s already shrinking budget surplus. On Friday, legislators announced new consensus numbers showing the state’s expected $1.3 billion budget surplus had dropped by about $200 million. Lawmakers have $525 million in one-time funds to spend and another $570 in ongoing surplus revenue for the next year.
Legislative leaders already set aside $300 million as a safeguard in case the expected budget surplus fails to materialize, a move that seems quite prescient now. They also allocated $350 million from the expected surplus to pay for the final costs on the new Utah State Prison. The alternative Medicaid expansion program could cost $72 million over the next two years, which takes more out of the surplus funds, leaving legislators with around $650 million extra for funding.
The proposed increase in public funding will take up almost â…“ of that total, which means many other funding requests will likely go by the wayside.
