Pub. 6 2016-2017 Issue 2

22 Public Education Funding Coming Representative BY REPRESENTATIVE DAN MCCAY E very year, education is the most hotly debated issue on Capitol Hill. It perennially polls as the No. 1 issue of Utahns – and 104 lawmakers, the state school board, and the executive branch respond accordingly. The problem, then, is that while we all want what’s best for Utah’s kids, there are literally dozens of differing views on how to get it done. More money. Less money. More special programs. All into the Weighted Pupil Unit. Higher pay for all teachers. Higher pay for STEM teachers. More councilors. More money for traditional schools. More money for charter schools. Heck, robots for autism students. (It’s not as strange as it sounds!) Nearly all of them involve and add up to billions of your tax dollars. Every member in the Utah Legislature is a member of an appropriations subcommittee. As a regular member of an appropriations committee, it is easy to throw rocks and question the seemingly endless special project initiatives. As the incoming chairman of the Public Education Appropriation Committee, however, I had an enlightening front seat view of the appropriations process for the first time. Each committee hearing is full of testimony from those making a difference in education. A lot of people are working very hard to help our children reach their full potential. • This year the Legislature voted to remove the sunset provision from the Charter School Start-up Grant program, making it a permanent resource for new charter schools. The program allows newly approved charter schools and expansions to hire legal counsel, financial advisors, and staff, lease office space, imple- ment a marketing plan, etc. by awarding these schools up to $300,000. This ensure new schools have all the tools they need to be successful as they begin their journey to a fully-operating school. • Dr. Sydnee Dickson has helped to guide Utah education for decades. As the state’s new Superintendent, she has