Democrats are small in number in the Utah Legislature, but for the legislative session just beginning on Capitol Hill, they have big plans for improving public schools in the Beehive State.

It’s time somebody took on that monumental and crucial task, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that the Republican majority in the Utah House and Senate won’t do it. The minority party, under the able leadership of Sen. Ben McAdams and Sen. Karen Morgan, both of Salt Lake City, has put together a package of bills aimed at improving both the professionalism of teachers and achievement of Utah children.

The Democratic caucuses have worked for months on what they call the Best Schools Initiative, and the effort is evident in the way the bills are targeted at the areas of public education that most need attention. McAdams said his caucus wants to increase Utah’s last-place per-pupil education expenditure by $750 over a decade, eventually allocating about $450 million more a year to Utah schools.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Jenkins responded by saying he doesn’t like committing future taxes for schools. But last year’s Legislature was determined to lock in future spending on transportation. Why not education as well?

Although we will look at each of the bills separately as they make their way through the House and Senate, the package deserves a collective assessment. Several of the most notable are aimed squarely at helping students who most need the help.

Morgan is sponsoring Senate Bill 31, which outlines a plan to reduce the number of children in kindergarten through third-grade classes. Caps on class sizes would be: 18 for kindergarten, 20 in first grade, 22 in second grade and 24 in third grade. It’s in these early grades when children learn the necessary basics of reading and math.

Rep. Brian Doughty’s as-yet-unnumbered bill would fund programs to help struggling students with tutoring and other remedial services. Sen. Karen Mayne is proposing to provide paraprofessionals to work individually with students in schools that are falling below standard.

Teachers would get support to improve their skills under a teacher mentoring bill from Rep. Carol Spackman Moss of Holladay. Rep. Brian King will sponsor a bill to streamline processes to remediate or dismiss mediocre teachers.

The measures are ambitious and would come at a cost. But, as McAdams points out, there are ways to pay for them. Most important, they could help stop the slide of Utah schools toward failure.