State board approves contingency budget for Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind; allows limited outreach charges to districts

The Utah State Board of Education on Thursday approved a contingency FY2026 budget for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind that includes authority for USDB to bill districts for outreach services “as necessary” to preserve essential staff and services.

Board members voted 11–2 to accept the USDB regular budget while authorizing the agency to seek additional revenue from local education agencies for outreach work; the board also unanimously approved a separate FY2026 enrichment fund budget.

The board and USDB officials described the action as a short-term step to keep specialized teachers and services in place while a working group of stakeholders develops longer-term funding solutions. USDB staff warned the board the agency faces a roughly $5.8 million shortfall under current appropriations and that, without additional revenue, USDB would need to eliminate roughly 53 positions across the agency. About 23 of those positions are currently vacant, USDB’s finance manager told the board.

USDB Finance Manager Vicky Summers told the board that preliminary closeout figures for FY2025 show the agency could finish the year very close to balanced, but the agency still faces a material gap going into FY2026. She provided the board a summary of USDB fund balances: the enrichment…