Utah

priorities and pressing state issues affecting p–12/higher education Utah has the lowest per pupil spending level in the country. During the fiscal year (FY) 2017 – 2018, Utah Governor Gary Herbert touted educational funding as his top priority and proposed that roughly 72% of the approximately $382 million in new state revenue would go to education. This proposal included an increase of approximately $275 million in total funding for education to be distributed to K-12 (approx. $208 million) and higher education (approx. $67 million).1 The 2018 educational budget proved beneficial for K-12 and higher education in Utah. Unprecedented K-12 funding helped resource several initiatives to include critical elementary school educators, restorative justice and trauma-informed practices in schools, increased teacher salaries, and other areas associated with school funding.2 Higher Education yielded increased funding in three areas to include appropriations for the University of Utah Medical Education and Discovery/Rehabilitation Hospital, Dixie State University Human Performance Center, Weber State University Lindquist Hall Renovation, and other major higher education projects.3