Utah lawmakers reach education-funding deal with teachers – Cache Valley Daily

The deal looks likely to pass at the Legislature. It must also be approved by the voters on the November ballot because it’s a constitutional change.

Lawmakers have said it is essential to prop up a faltering sales-tax base. Two other tax-overhaul attempts have failed: a deeply unpopular plan that included raising taxes on food and a proposal to tax services that ran into opposition from businesses.

Convincing voters to change the way education is funded could also be tricky. But Heidi Matthews with the Utah Education Association said steps like guarantees of increases to fund student growth are good. “The solution we’re presenting here today is not perfect, but we didn’t let perfect get in the way of progress,” she said.

The plan would allow income tax money to be used for things like the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides coverage to children whose families are low income but earn too much to qualify for Medicaid.

Still, some worried about shifting from a constitutional guarantee for education funding to one written into laws that the Legislature could change later.

“I can’t bring myself to exchange the constitutional language for the statutory language,” Democratic Rep. Brian King said. “I just can’t do it.”