State Superintendent Larry Shumway urged lawmakers not to cut education dollars further and said he plans to take action to address inappropriate relationships between teachers and students as part of his first State of Education speech Thursday evening.

"There are some who believe that the quality of education isn't related to money," Shumway said. "At some level of funding way above ours, this could be true. But in the same way you can't pour a 50-foot sidewalk with 25 feet of concrete or drive 500 miles on 100 miles worth of gasoline, our schools can't provide essential services to students without essential funding."

He said cuts to this year's education budget have already meant fewer teachers, larger classes, fewer school days and lower pay for many.

Utah already has the lowest base per pupil spending and the highest ratio of students to teachers in the nation.

Amid sour state budget projections, the State Board of Education is asking lawmakers not to cut education further next school year. Instead, board members will likely ask lawmakers to keep education funding at current levels by dipping into the state's rainy day fund and by using $100 million that was set aside for future education funding in 2008. But even that would likely mean a drop in the base amount of money Utah spends per student because the state expects to enroll an additional 11,000 students next school year.

Shumway said after his speech that so far the proposal has been met with "supportive feedback" from lawmakers.

Sen. Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, who attended the speech, said he's optimistic about the proposal.

"There's no question we're going to have to use some of the rainy day funds, but we can't use them all because they are one-time funds, and once they're gone we won't have anything else to use," he said. He also said, however, that districts will possibly have to look to local sources of funding as well.

Shumway also on Thursday addressed the recent string of reports of Utah teachers having intimate relationships with students.

He said state officials are in the process of developing an online ethics review course for school employees, and he plans to convene a work group to review the rules and procedures governing the conduct of school employees. He asked educators to speak up when they notice colleagues who "seem headed down the path to disaster."

Shumway also, however, took the speech as an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of state educators and programs, such as a state reading initiative, language immersion and optional extended day kindergarten.

He also said changes are in store for Utah education, such as working with other states toward common academic standards and assessments. He said state leaders are also considering replacing the Utah Basic Skills Competency Test with the ACT.

Despite the state's challenges, Shumway said he's proud of Utah schools.

"A student who is fully engaged in all the opportunities that are available in our schools can get an education in Utah that will be competitive with the very best schools anywhere in America," he said.