Utah Education Association (UEA) leaders have said it's been a rough year for education policy at the Legislature, which passed bills this year to prohibit school districts from considering seniority when laying off teachers, to prohibit districts from paying teachers on leave to perform union duties and a teacher evaluation bill, that, in part, removed a requirement that districts try to help teachers with poor performance evaluations improve.

But UEA leaders have been saying for days that policy aside, they're pleased with the education budget passed this year. Today they issued a formal press release about it that you can read below:

"The Utah Education Association (UEA) today extended its appreciation to legislators for efforts to hold the public education budget level.

'Our legislature has demonstrated its commitment to funding public education by avoiding major budget cuts and providing for growth,' said UEA President Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh. 'This budget will help educators focus on delivering a quality education without worrying about what will be cut next.'

Over the past two years, the state’s public education budget has declined by about $200 million, while nearly 25,000 new students were added to school rolls.

The Utah State Legislature approved a final 2011-12 state budget that funds public education at the same level as last year, including new funding to cover about 14,700 additional students expected next year."