The Teacher Salary Supplement Restricted Account in the Uniform School Fund was created in the 2008 General Session to pay the costs associated with the Teacher Salary Supplement Program. The State Division of Finance distributes funding from the account to teachers that qualify for the supplement.
Teacher Salary Supplement Program -- provides qualifying secondary math and science teachers with a $4,100 salary supplement. Teachers receive the full supplement if they are assigned full-time to teach one or more of the courses listed in statute and have a qualifying degree also listed in statute. The Qualifying Educational Background requires teachers to have a bachelor's degree major, master's degree, or doctoral degree in the content areas listed in statute to qualify for a supplement. Teachers that have a part-time assignment to teach in one of these courses may receive a partial salary adjustment based on the number of hours worked in the course.
In addition to the $4,100 salary adjustment, the Legislature appropriated funding to cover the employer-paid benefit costs associated with retirement, worker's compensation, Social Security, and Medicare. Qualifying teachers that receive a supplement are required to pay all personal payroll deductions as they do with their current base salary.
Beginning in FY 2015, the Utah State Board of Education took over the administration of the program from the Utah State Department of Human Services. Teachers must apply to the Board in order to be considered for the salary supplement and teachers may apply after each semester/trimester or at the end of the school year. The Board determines if a teacher is eligible by verifying degree and course assignments. Once the Board certifies a list (by school district and charter school) of eligible teachers and the amount of their salary supplement, the list is given to the State Division of Finance for payment from the restricted account. The Division of Finance transfers funding to the school district or charter school.
Formula -- School districts and charter schools receive funding based on total certified amount established by the State Board of Education. This amount is based on the total number of qualified teachers that applied for the program and their supplement award amount. Statute requires that school districts and charter schools provide a salary supplement equal to the amount specified for each eligible teacher.
During the 2015 General Session, the Legislature appropriated for Fiscal Year 2016, $6,553,600 from all sources for USFR Teacher Salary Supplement Restricted Account. This is a 1.4 percent reduction from Fiscal Year 2015 revised estimated amounts from all sources. The total includes $6,553,600 from the General/Education Funds, a reduction of 1.4 percent from revised Fiscal Year 2015 estimates.
In addition to statewide compensation and internal service fund cost increases, the following appropriation adjustments were made during the 2015 General Session:
The following statute governs the Teacher Salary Supplement Program & Restricted Account.
- UCA 53A-17a-156 -- outlines the Teacher Salary Supplement Program including definitions of "Eligible Teacher" and "Qualifying Educational Background". The statute specifies the maximum amount of financial supplement to educators and provisions governing partial supplements. Finally, the statute provides direction to the State Board of Education and the State Division of Finance to use in administering the program and distributing salary supplements to teachers via their school district or charter school.
- UCA 53A-17a-157 -- creates the Teacher Salary Supplement Restricted Account in the Uniform School Fund and specifies the use of funds appropriated to the account. The restricted account is funded solely through appropriations made by the Legislature.
COBI contains unaudited data as presented to the Legislature by state agencies at the time of publication. For audited financial data see the State of Utah's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports.