State Board narrows legislative ask, raises school-safety request to $50 million and adds USBE staffing ask

The Utah State Board of Education on Thursday adopted a narrowed set of budget priorities to present to the Legislature, approving “Plan 2” with amendments that increase the board’s one‑time school‑safety request and add an ongoing staffing request for the Utah State Board of Education (USBE).

Board members debated which items to press with the Planning and Evaluation (PEA) committee and the Education Appropriations Committee (EAC), then voted to adopt Plan 2 as amended. The board recorded a final vote of 10 in favor, 2 opposed. The amended package retains much of the base budget and narrows or drops some of the board’s earlier, larger requests so the board can present a more realistic package to the legislature.

Why it matters: The board’s request list will be the basis for USBE staff and board leadership when they meet PEA and EAC. Narrowing the list reflects an explicit strategy: board leaders said the legislature has told them there is little ongoing revenue available, and the board sought a set of priorities the PEA would be willing to forward rather than present a large “laundry list.” The package affects priorities ranging from school safety and reporting systems to teacher pay (WPU) and USDB funding.

Key decisions and amounts - Plan 2 as adopted (motion): board adopted Plan 2 as amended; final recorded vote 10 in favor, 2 opposed. - School safety: the board increased its one‑time school‑safety request in Plan 2 by $10 million (raising the board’s Plan 2 school‑safety line from $40 million to $50 million). That amendment passed and was incorporated into the adopted package. - Uniform reporting structure (statewide data/reporting work): the board debated removing the $20 million uniform reporting request but a motion to drop that request failed (recorded as 12 opposed, 2 in favor, 1 abstention per the meeting record). - National Board Certified Teacher incentives: a proposal to drop the national board–certified teacher item from Plan 2 failed (recorded as 8 against, 4 in favor, 1 abstention). - USDB: the board retained a $4 million request for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB) in Plan 2. - WPU (value) increase: Plan 2 includes an ongoing WPU‑value increase request (discussed in the meeting text as roughly $44.5 million additional ongoing in the board’s Plan 2 request). - USBE critical FTE: the board added an ongoing request of approximately $1,270,000 for critical USBE full‑time employees; that amendment was approved and added to Plan 2.

What staff told the board about school‑safety needs Director Chantal Acota, director of school safety and student services, told the board that school safety needs assessments submitted by districts and schools totaled “just under $500,000,000.” She explained that some items identified by schools fall outside the minimum safety and security requirements set by House Bill 84 and that about $50 million of the total would be funded from a separate pot for specific items (wearable panic alerts and bleed‑control kits), reducing the portion the board would need to seek as part of its Plan 2 request.

Board members’ positions - Several board members argued for a realistic, narrower request they believed PEA would consider, citing repeated comments from legislators that ongoing revenue was effectively zero and that the PEA often reduces an expansive list. - Some members objected to narrowing the list, saying the board would be underserving educators and students if it did not press for larger amounts. - Members who favored narrowing stressed urgency around teacher compensation (WPU value) and maintenance‑of‑effort constraints facing local districts.

Votes at a glance (items debated and recorded outcomes) - Motion to drop the National Board Certified Teacher request from Plan 2: motion failed (meeting record: 8 against, 4 in favor, 1 abstention). - Motion to drop the Uniform Reporting Structure request from Plan 2: motion failed (meeting record: 12 opposed, 2 in favor, 1 abstention). - Amendment to add $10,000,000 to the Plan 2 school‑safety request (raising it to $50,000,000): amendment passed and was incorporated into Plan 2 (vote counts recorded in the transcript and summarized in the meeting minutes). - Amendment to add $1,270,000 ongoing for critical USBE FTE: amendment passed and was added to Plan 2. - Final motion to adopt Plan 2 as amended (including the $50M school safety and the USBE staffing request): passed (10 in favor, 2 opposed).

Next steps and implementation notes Board leadership and USBE staff will present the adopted Plan 2 to the Planning and Evaluation Committee and to the Education Appropriations Committee. Board members and staff noted the multi‑step nature of the budget process (board → PEA → EAC) and warned that PEA or EAC may further reduce or reallocate items. Staff also reminded the board of the Governor’s budgetary procedures that require an early “laundry list” before revenues are finalized, and some board members discussed pursuing code changes to avoid that timing pressure in future cycles.

Ending: The board’s adopted Plan 2 is now the document leadership will take to legislative budget discussions; staff said they would continue advocacy at PEA and with bill sponsors and will monitor parallel legislative bills that could provide or reallocate funding.