Gov. Spencer Cox and the Legislature announced the $1,446 pay raise Friday. Almost $500 of the salary increase is a statutorily required adjustment, but lawmakers added $1,000.
Education support staff, like cafeteria workers, bus drivers and guidance counselors, are set to receive a one-time $1,000 bonus. The legislator also plans to increase school district funding by 4% to give a boost to all employees.
“Teachers change lives, and they deserve to be valued, supported, and paid fairly for their incredible work,” said Governor Spencer Cox in a statement. “This investment is another step in our commitment to ensuring Utah remains among the best places in the nation to teach and learn. This is not just about funding education; it’s about the future of our students, families and communities — built here.”
However, Utah Education Association President and former Park City School District teacher Renée Pinkney said educators would prefer an increase to the “weighted pupil unit,” — the per-student funding amount — rather than a salary increase.
“That gives our districts more flexibility in order to determine the needs of their district, and that includes compensation packages and being able to allocate funding to the needs of individual districts,” she said. “Obviously that increase will help out educators. However, it is a little bit disingenuous, based on the way they presented the increase.”
Utah currently increases the WPU by a statutorily required inflation adjustment of 4% each year and was ranked last in the nation for per-pupil spending in 2022. Pinkney said that’s not meeting the needs of all students, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic caused learning loss in some student groups. She said public schools need more boots on the ground to meet kids’ needs and that comes from adequate funding through increases to things like WPU.
The salary increase also comes after legislators passed a bill banning public unions from collective bargaining, a process where an employer and a union negotiate wages, benefits and other aspects of worker compensation. Under the law, new labor organization employees would also be excluded from participating in Utah Retirement Systems, which provides retirement and insurance benefits to public employees.
Despite pleas from thousands of teachers, firefighters and police to veto the legislation, Cox signed the bill Feb. 14. Pinkney said the salary increase does not make up for this legislation.
“We would much rather have collective bargaining or the ability to be recognized as the bargaining agent by our local district than have this increase to the ESA, or the educator salary adjustment,” she said.
Other proposed education funding from the state include:
- $77.7 million – Educator professional time
- $65 million – Career and Technical Education Catalyst grant program
- $14.3 million – Teacher supplies and materials
- $12.4 million – Stipends for Future Educators grants for student teachers
- $7.3 million – Grow Your Own Educator Pipeline Grant Program
- $795,700 – Support for professional liability insurance premiums for Utah educators]
The governor’s office said these funding highlights build upon years of efforts to enhance education and teacher well-being. The office said Utah expanded maternity leave, professional planning time and implemented paid student teaching.
However, Pinkney said these are policies educators fought for, not lawmakers. She said the teachers' union went to lawmakers to see if they would sponsor legislation to compensate teachers for working after hours and increase maternity leave.
“We did have sponsors, and the legislation was passed, and we are hopeful for some positive outcomes in this last week of the session. But, you know, that was also disingenuous not to say that these were bills that were sought after by UEA,” Pinkney said.
In a statement, Pinkney said if Utah’s leaders are serious about supporting educators and students, they must invest in real, long-term solutions. Those include respectable wages, sustainable staffing levels, classroom behavioral support and fully funding public education instead of diverting millions to private interests.
