Herbert boosts education with budget plan

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Gov. Gary Herbert is proposing a $12.8 billion state budget that boosts public education and gives teachers and all state workers a 1 percent pay raise.

Utah continually struggles to support public schools because of rapid enrollment growth, which generally outweighs any added funding.

Herbert says he's more than meeting the challenge this time. He announced a budget proposal Wednesday that calls for $298 million in new money for public education - or about three times the amount needed to match all the new students entering school.

Herbert says he's moving toward another goal of ensuring a college education for two-thirds of Utah adults, with an emphasis on science and math. And he's giving the University of Utah more funding to turn out more doctors.

Herbert's budget plan is for the fiscal year starting July 1.

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