Governor Cox Budget Proposal

The media has reported that Governor Cox proposes a $6,000 increase to all teachers for the FY23 school year. You can read more about it here: https://www.ksl.com/article/50535577/year-of-the-teacher-cox-proposes-historic-funding-pay-raises-for-utah-educators

We support the Governor’s budget and appreciate the additional funding proposed for public education. It is important to note that the Governor’s budget gives an insight into the additional revenue and provides suggestions to the Utah Legislature to approve the funding. However, the Governor’s budget is not the final state budget; the Utah Legislature will approve a base budget at the beginning of the legislative session, which may or may not include the Governor’s budget recommendations.  

The good news is that Governor Cox has let everyone know the money is available, and he would like it to be focused on education. We will see how the Utah Legislature responds to the additional surplus in state revenues. The Utah Legislature is receiving pressure to cut taxes to balance the additional revenue, as is evident in the Governor’s budget under his three-year tax reductions. As a district, we will continue to advocate for additional increases to salaries and the Weighted Pupil Unit (WPU), which is the main funding mechanism for all public schools.