Several powerful Utahns huddled around a table of first-graders at Monroe Elementary School in West Valley City on a recent school day.

They quietly watched art specialist Katie Cook-Zamora teach students how to make prints about feelings -- a lesson that combined art, literature and health as part of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program, which is now in 53 Utah schools.

The real project, however, began when they left the classroom: Sorenson, a powerful Utah philanthropist, worked to persuade Rep. Ron Bigelow, House budget chairman, to keep the program going in all 53 schools next school year.

The visit was part of a effort to save the project, originally slated to run for four years. Unless the program gets more money this coming legislative session, it will likely end in many schools at the end of this school year instead of two years from then. The advocacy group Friends of Art Works for Kids, which is funded by Sorenson, has been inviting lawmakers to schools and hosting events to educate parents statewide about how to save the program, which funds full-time arts specialists at each of the schools.

Gov. Gary Herbert has already recommended additional funding to fully extend the program through at least next school year. And Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, who sponsored the original bill to create the program, also supports extending it.

But even with Sorenson's influence, Herbert's support and the backing of some lawmakers, saving the program in all 53 schools could be an uphill battle. The state is facing a nearly $700 million shortfall between this year and next. If anything, schools in general will likely face more cuts next school year.

Bigelow, who will have a hand in shaping the state budget, couldn't make the promise Wednesday that Sorenson wanted to hear. Bigelow said he doesn't doubt the program is valuable, but there are many valuable programs in Utah. He said it's too early to say which programs he'll support for funding and which he won't.

"Could we solve the problem if we had funds? Yes," Bigelow said. "The challenge is, in Utah, we aren't going to have those funds."

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Working toward the future » Through the years, Sorenson, a former teacher, pianist and the wife of late biotechnology pioneer James LeVoy Sorenson, has spent tens of millions of dollars bolstering school art programs.

In many cases, her money and effort has gone to schools where arts instruction was weakened by budget cuts and/or a nationwide focus on test scores because of No Child Left Behind.

But Sorenson is a passionate believer in arts education and isn't looking for a temporary fix.

"At 85, my challenge is: How do I sustain this when I'm gone? What happens?" Sorenson told Bigelow and other lawmakers on Wednesday. "I want a board set up where this cannot be taken out of elementary schools anymore. We have this responsibility to care, first of all, for these little children that are going to be leaders of our nation."

In 2008, she persuaded lawmakers to put $15.8 million toward funding arts specialists in nearly 10 percent of Utah elementary schools. The idea was that the program would last four years, during which researchers would collect data to gauge its effectiveness. That data could then be used to build a long-term arts program for Utah schools.

But last legislative session, amid statewide budget cuts, the program was slashed by 37 percent. That will leave the program with only $2.7 million after this school year -- not enough to fund it in all 53 schools for a third year and not enough for a fourth year at all, said Margaret Hunt, director of the Utah Arts Council, which administers the program .

But many don't want to see it go. They say it boosts children's confidence, creativity and abilities in other subjects.

"My children enjoy school more, and they're happier to go when there's a specialist that works at the school," said Dina Driggs, PTA president at Edgemont Elementary in Provo, where Friends of Art Works for Kids recently held an event to raise awareness about the program.

Rosemary Mitchell, a visual arts specialist at Woodrow Wilson Elementary in Salt Lake City, said the program has made a big difference in her students' lives. On Wednesday, Mitchell's class used paints they made from pure pigments to create horses in the style of artist Laurel Burch.

It's the program's second year at the school, where most students qualify for free or reduced price lunches, and many are learning to speak English.

"It's the only place in the building where kids can go and give of themselves fully without being timed, graded or judged," Mitchell said. "All of us need that."

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Gathering proof » Stopping the program short, supporters say, will make gathering meaningful data difficult. The University of Utah's Education Policy Center, which is conducting the research, will have data about the initial impact of the program on student achievement available by June. But Andrea Rorrer, center director, said more years are needed to determine its effectiveness.

"One of the most dangerous things you can do with a program is give it one year and then try to measure if it has had an impact on student achievement when the program may or may not have been rolled out consistently across sites," Rorrer said.

In general, research has often shown that arts education positively affects schools and students . But Sorenson wants lawmakers to know that her program, which requires arts specialists and classroom teachers to teach side-by-side and integrates art and other subjects, is effective for Utah students.

Preliminary data from years before lawmakers started funding the program shows promise. At Salt Lake City's Jackson Elementary, which has had arts programs for 14 years, the percentages of students proficient in reading and math rose between 2001 and 2005. It's not totally clear whether the improvements were a result of arts education, but supporters say they expect to see similar data from the four year study, if it can be completed.

Sorenson hopes to show Utah policymakers, once and for all, that art programs can improve schools and students' performance in other subjects.

"It's an enhancement of the curriculum the students are learning in their classrooms," Cook-Zamora said. "It's not taking time away from that. It's giving them another way to look at it."

lschencker@sltrib.com