Last year, lawmakers gave educators a $2,500 raise, $1,000 bonus and raised per pupil spending by 4 percent on top of that. This year's proposed increase also falls short of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s original recommendation to raise per pupil spending by 7 percent.
"Expectations were set very high," said Susan Kuziak, Utah Education Association executive director. "I think people will feel disappointed in the numbers."
The majority party in the House feels its recommendation is the best it can do considering other state education needs and the amount of money available, said Rep. Ron Bigelow, R-West Valley City.
"There has been more discussion on WPU and teacher salary . . . than I think on any other issue," he said. "It was felt this was where we wanted to go based upon funding other priorities within public education."
Like last year, the raises would go directly to classroom teachers, speech pathologists, librarians or media specialists, preschool teachers, mentor teachers, teacher specialists, guidance counselors, audiologists, psychologists and social workers. Unlike last year, school administrators would not get the raises - a change that concerns the state Board of Education.
"It's about maintaining the team aspect. . . . It would do more damage than good to have them taken out," board member Dixie Allen said. The state school board has said its priorities are $2,500 raises for teachers and a 3 percent increase in per pupil funding.
Republican representatives meeting in caucus briefly debated including raises in WPU funding, which goes to school districts instead of directly to teachers. Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, argued putting the raises into the WPU would give schools more flexibility to spend the money according to their needs.
Rep. Brad Last, R-St. George, said that if the state doesn't put the raise money into the WPU, some districts might not have enough money to provide other raises based on experience to some teachers.
That, he said, could mean newer teachers might get more money than they expected but more experienced teachers might actually get lower raises than they would have earned had the money been put into the WPU.
"You can't necessarily say we're going to increase salary," Last said.
Other legislators said giving new teachers higher percentage raises is exactly the point. "We have a teacher shortage at the same time as a population boom," said Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper. "If we don't attract more people into this profession . . . then we are never going to address the problem."
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* ROXANA ORELLANA contributed to this story.
* The proposal: House Republicans voted Tuesday to support a $1,700 pay raise for teachers and a 2.5 percent increase in the amount school districts receive per pupil. Teachers last year received a $2,500 pay raise plus a $1,000 bonus, and per-pupil funding increased 4 percent.
* What's next: Senate Republicans also must come up with a plan and both groups have to get the Executive Appropriations Committee to sign off as it crafts the overall state budget proposal. Both houses then must approve the budget.
