By Robert Gehrke

| The Salt Lake Tribune

Bountiful • Gov. Gary Herbert pitched his budget blueprint for the coming year as a plan that ensures Utah has an educated workforce that attracts business and fuels economic growth.

At its heart, Herbert’s proposal is an increase of more than $134 million for Utah’s public schools and universities to educate 12,500 students entering public schools next year and offering teachers a small raise.

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At a glance

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Herbert’s budget primer

Here are some additional highlights of Gov. Herbert’s budget proposal.

» $4 million to lease beds from county jails to alleviate crowding in the prison system;

» $11 million for a Parole Violator Center, a low-security facility for parolees who violate terms of their release, rather than returning them to prison. That 300-bed center is due to open in April 2012;

» Hiring six new Utah Highway Patrol troopers;

» $2.8 million to sustain cash-strapped state parks and a $1 million reduction in tourism promotion to $6 million;

» $2.4 million to keep open the doors of state liquor stores — some of which were threatened with closure last year;

» $760,000 for the Governor’s Office of Energy Development;

» A $13.5 million payment toward settling the Pelt lawsuit, which alleged that the state had mismanaged the oil royalties of 8,000 Navajos.

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"I think it is absolutely imperative for our long-term economic stability that we fund education," Herbert said. "It’s the linchpin. I can’t develop energy and all the potential that’s there ... you can’t do that without education and research. We can’t have a healthy economy and job growth and creation without an educated workforce."

The school infusion absorbs about a third of the total $408 million in new spending in Herbert’s $12.9 billion budget proposal.

Health care costs eat up much of the remainder with a spike in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program — which provide health care to Utah’s poor — costing the state nearly $163 million more in the coming year.

The governor’s recommendation is merely the first step in the budget process. Ultimately, the decisions will be made by the Legislature, which historically has given little deference to the governor’s suggestions, although lawmakers Monday were generally favorable toward Herbert’s blueprint.

"Twelve billion dollars is a lot of money," said Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, who has specific concerns about growth in particular areas.

Waddoups said he is concerned about $6 million the governor is seeking for the University of Utah medical school, and he thinks higher education funding should be cut elsewhere. There are also concerns about some of the public education spending beyond the enrollment growth.

"Our priority is education ... that’s where we’re going to succeed in coming out of this recession," Waddoups said, but the total education package Herbert proposes "makes us really nervous."

House Speaker Becky Lockhart, R-Provo, said she believes the governor’s recommendation is "a good budget. I think it’s a conservative budget and it considers the needs of the state."

But Utah Democratic Party Chairman Jim Dabakis said the budget reflected tired, old ideas and half-measures for Utah’s education system, which remains last in the nation in per-pupil spending.

"We are screaming out to the Governor and the Republican Legislature to give a damn about Utah kids," Dabakis said. "Stop the rhetoric and spend some money to build our children a better future and a better Utah."

Herbert is offering a tax break for employers, cutting their unemployment insurance tax by a total of $26.4 million. The governor said the cut would benefit 88 percent of small businesses and stimulate private-sector hiring.

The governor is putting forward $500,000 for homeless shelters, another area that Waddoups questions.

"Is that where the state is supposed to be spending its money or are we supposed to be providing a way for people to get out of that situation?" Waddoups asked.

The unemployment trust fund plummeted from more than $800 million to less than $300 million during the recession, but Department of Workforce Services director Kristen Cox said the fund is growing again and the tax can be cut without cutting benefits or breaking the fund.

Senate Minority Leader Ross Romero, D-Salt Lake City, said with the efficiencies already squeezed out of Workforce Services, he isn’t sure how the department will meet the unemployment demand.