By lisa schencker

| The Salt Lake Tribune

Of all the education bills Jon Huntsman signed as governor of Utah, at least one stands out in many Utahns’ minds: school vouchers.

But amid the controversy that followed the signing — a referendum, TV commercials and millions of dollars poured into each side’s campaign — Huntsman himself did not stand out. He signed the bill and said he supported vouchers, but largely stayed out of the public fight afterward, asking Utahns to vote for what they thought was right. That approach, perhaps not surprisingly, drew mixed reactions.

Photos

• 
• 

	Join the Discussion
	Post a Comment

But it wasn’t the only education issue the current presidential candidate dealt with that, years later, is still drawing varied reviews.

Under Huntsman, schools and teachers got more money — a fact some attribute to Huntsman’s priorities but others say had more to do with the rosy pre-recession economy.

He signed a bill challenging the supremacy of the federal education law No Child Left Behind. He also helped launch an optional, extended-day kindergarten program over the concerns of some conservatives, though the program is now popular among parents and educators.

Some education leaders who worked with him as governor are quick to praise him.

"I’m excited about the potential of his candidacy in large part because of how he handled education," said Patti Harrington, who was state superintendent during Huntsman’s time in office.

Others, particularly those who supported the push to allow taxpayer-funded vouchers for private schools, weren’t impressed.

"I don’t really think Huntsman had a legacy for education," said Judi Clark, executive director of Parents for Choice in Education (PCE), which backed school vouchers. "He obviously had a great opportunity, but there was no political capital extended to that. It was kept in reserve for future political ambition. Education is no better because Jon Huntsman Jr. was our governor."

—

School funding » In 2007, Mary Jane Morris taught seventh- and eighth-grade struggling readers at Northwest Middle School in Salt Lake City. That was before she was named Utah’s 2010 Teacher of the Year, before the recession hit and when Huntsman was governor.

"I felt very valued and honored by the fact that we know we’re on a tight budget but ... there was also the recognition that teachers are touching the future, they are readying our students for the 21st century," Morris said. "I think there was a true value on teachers."

Though Utah has long had the lowest per-pupil funding in the nation — partly because of the state’s high proportion of children to adults and large amounts of public land — teacher salaries increased while Huntsman was in office. Huntsman repeatedly said that one of his priorities was raising teacher pay.

Huntsman signed a bill giving teachers statewide $2,500 raises and one-time bonuses of $1,000 in 2007, and another bill in 2008 giving them an additional $1,700.

Overall per-pupil spending also increased while Huntsman was in office, said Steve Kroes, president of the Utah Foundation.

"When the budget was producing large surpluses, he took a stand that a large part of that money needed to go to education," Kroes said.

Some, however, attribute the influx of dollars to education to other factors as well.