This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah lawmakers hit a budgetary reset button on Wednesday, reversing a series of line-item vetoes and restoring $4.7 million in funding for online preschool, elementary reading software and a cooking competition for high school students.
By votes of 27-1 in the Senate and 67-6 in the House, lawmakers approved SB2001, which returns funding levels to what the Legislature approved in March.
Layton Republican Sen. Stuart Adams said the online preschool program, UPSTART, has been a "phenomenal" effort since its creation in 2010.
And students who participate in ProStart, the culinary arts and competition program, build self-esteem, he said.
"These programs are worth re-instating," said Adams.
Senate approval came after minimal discussion. But members of the Utah House questioned why money was being awarded to private software vendors at the expense of other education priorities, like public preschool and full-day kindergarten, which failed to receive a funding bump during the 2016 legislative session.
Mapleton Republican Rep. Francis Gibson, the bill's House sponsor, said the state sees positive results from the software programs, which are not intended to replace traditional programs.
"This is not to supplant or replace a school teacher, a parent, a loved one, a mentor or anyone else," Gibson said. "This is to enhance that learning environment."
He reminded lawmakers that identical funding levels were approved during the 2016 legislative session, and said he hoped the same level of attention would be paid to the education budget when the Legislature convenes in 2017.
"I appreciate everyone's questions," Gibson said. "I wonder where these questions were three months ago."
Salt Lake City Democrat Rep. Joel Briscoe, a former educator, unsuccessfully moved an amendment that would have restricted the bill's ProStart funding from being used by Teen Chef Masters, a television program that features ProStart students competing for scholarships.
"I'm not opposed to the program," Briscoe said, before adding that the money could be better applied to expand the number of participating schools rather than producing a television show.
Gibson said the state regularly funds programming on public television and compared Teen Chef Masters to state and regional competitions for student athletes.
"It does give our young men and young women who are in the ProStart program the opportunity to compete on stage," he said.
Gov. Gary Herbert specifically cited concerns with Teen Chef Masters in the veto letter he sent to legislative leaders in March.
He also wrote that Utah had committed ongoing funding to UPSTART and the reading software programs that would be unaffected by his vetoes, which were meant to reduce and avoid overlap between the state's various early intervention initiatives.
Legislative leaders initially considered overriding Herbert's vetoes, but the governor agreed to call a special session in return for assurances that lawmakers would evaluate the results of the learning software initiatives.
Sandy Republican Rep. Steve Eliason, co-chairman of the Education Appropriations, said his committee plans to conduct a review of UPSTART and the elementary reading programs during its September interim meeting.
Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, said the UPSTART and early reading software programs have a direct impact on the lives of children in her district, many of whom live in low-income households.
"This is a critical piece in my district and I appreciate the opportunity to be able to reconsider this," she said.
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