SALT LAKE CITY, March 5, 2008 — Members of the Utah House of Representatives debated and passed First Substitute Senate Bill 2 today, the all-encompassing education funding bill. To the surprise of many legislators, when the bill came forward it included millions of dollars in funding for an internet access and software program for preschoolers, a proposal that had previously failed in the House.Representative Karen Morgan, D-Salt Lake City, attempted to remove this proposal from the omnibus bill. Morgan then proposed that this funding be applied to HB194 Class-Size Reduction in Kindergarten through Grade Three, a bill which passed unanimously.
“The highest priority of parents across the state is class-size reduction. With little children, nothing surpasses one-on-one individualized attention,” said Morgan. “As important as early childhood education is, we should not be putting millions of dollars into a experimental pilot program that was voted down by this body. The state education fund was established to provide funding to grades K-12, and that is where we should be putting our efforts. This amendment reflects the will of the people of our state, and the will of this collective body.”
House Bill 194 would have provided grants to schools to help them lower their class sizes in grades K-3, and it would ensure accountability for the use of those dollars.
After a 45 minute floor debate, Morgan’s attempt to amend the education funding bill failed by one vote, but she vowed that she will not give up in the fight for class size reduction.
“Class-size reduction is the most important thing we can do for education in our state,” said Morgan. “I will continue to work toward providing that for these little ones in the most overcrowded kindergarten, first, second and third grade classrooms.”
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3 comments:
It's amazing how much the Democratic caucus dislikes Karen Morgan.
Anonymous,
That's not what I'm hearing.
With every best wish,
Rob Miller
801-706-6203
The Democratic Caucus has the highest respect for Karen Morgan. It's obvious Karen could be labeled the most "moderate-to-conservative democrat" in the House, but the caucus admires Rep. Morgan's understanding of her constituency and the issues that are important to them.
The caucus worked hard to amend Rep. Morgan's class-size reduction bill into the omnibus education bill, only to have the effort squashed by those on the far right.
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