With Economy Booming, Utah Educators Draw Up Wish Lists

By Drew Lindsay

With a booming state treasury and a rare respite from soaring school enrollments, 1996 could be the year that Utah lawmakers increase classroom spending, raise teacher salaries, or launch new education programs.

Educators in the state with the lowest per-pupil spending in the country are preparing to scramble for the dollars pouring into state coffers. They are optimistic that the state's strong economy may soon provide more for schools than just keeping up with new enrollments.

The state board of education this month asked the legislature for an increase in K-12 spending of about 11 percent, to about $1.9 billion. Lawmakers in the past five years have signed off on increases of around...