Governor Spencer Cox has called 2023 the “Year of the Teacher,” promising to prioritize funding for education. But while the Governor can advocate for his priorities, the Legislature gets the final say over the state’s budget.
Legislators at the League of Women Voters Annual Legislative Forum, including state Senator Luz Escamilla, said they supported more funding for education, but that money alone won’t fix every problem.
“I'm excited to actually put our money where our mouth is, as a collective group of legislators that deeply care for education and our children. We need to just get us at a better place in terms of our funding for paying our teachers. But there's more that's needed in terms of our education system,” she said.
“There are other things that teachers want besides just higher pay and need besides higher pay, right? We've got special education teachers who are so overwhelmed with the paperwork that they have to do. We don't have enough paraprofessionals in the classroom. We have too large of class sizes. Our teachers aren't getting sufficient training days, they're having to find their own substitutes,” Representative Marsha Judkins agreed.
Representative Cheryl Action says increasing pay is crucial for recruiting and retaining teachers in Utah schools, but Representative Sandra Hollins says pay isn’t the only thing teachers care about.
“I think we need to look at more innovative ways to bring in educators and to retain educators. And I think they're superstars. And in my personal opinion, I think they need to be the highest-paid profession in the state of Utah," Hollins said.
With the start of the legislative session less than two weeks away, constituents won’t have to wait very long to see their legislators’ priorities through their votes.
