This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill that could give schools more money to hire guidance counselors.
SB234 asks for an additional $9 million to ultimately help hire more school counselors. The goal is to eventually get the ratio down to one counselor for every 350 students, said Dawn-Kay Stevenson of the Utah State Office of Education. Now, the average ratio is 1 to 369 in Utah secondary schools, with some counselors serving as many as 600 students. The bill now moves to the House where it could face trouble. GOP House members left the funding off a priority funding list released Tuesday. - Lisa Schencker
