Gov. talks vouchers, ed funding with Utah Education Association | The Chalkboard | The Salt Lake Tribune

Gov. talks vouchers, ed funding with Utah Education Association | The Chalkboard | The Salt Lake Tribune

The Chalkboard
Trib Education reporters

Lisa Schencker, Kirsten Stewart and Brian Maffly, reporters for The Salt Lake Tribune education desk, cover issues from early education and parenting to K-12 and higher education in Utah.

Article Tools

» Comments (0)
» E-mail this story
» Printer-friendly version

Gov. talks vouchers, ed funding with Utah Education Association

Updated on Jun 21, 2010 04:57PM 0 Comments

Gov. Gary Herbert met with leaders of the Utah Education Association (UEA) June 16 and shared some of his thoughts on key issues in education today, according to a UEA press release. According to the release, it may have been the first time a sitting Utah governor has attended a UEA board meeting.

Here's what the gov. had to say on a few hot topics, according to the UEA release:

"Taxes and education funding: 'Education funding increased by $900 million over the Huntsman-Herbert years,' said the Governor. He added that Utah is in a 'unique' position with only 21.2 percent of the state held privately, limiting the amount of land available to generate tax revenue.

Vouchers: While he was a vocal supporter of vouchers, Gov. Herbert recognized that there were flaws in the law ultimately passed by the Utah legislature. '(Vouchers) should have been means tested and there should have been income limits,' he said. 'As far as I’m concerned, the (voucher) issue is dead for at least the next decade.'

State school board elections: When asked, Gov. Herbert called the current system for electing state school board members 'screwy.' He has