Education Town Hall Meeting discusses TSSA program and its effect on schools
Senator Ann Milner of the Utah State Senate visited Cache Valley on Wednesday, November 20th to engage with the community about the impacts of legislative action and funding in public education. The Education Town Hall Meeting was held in the Historic County Courthouse.
Hosted by Representative Dan Johnson, Milner joined Cache County School District Superintendent Steven Norton and Logan City School District Superintendent Frank Schofield to discuss the Teacher and Student Success Account (TSSA) program and its impact within the Cache Valley community.
In the most recent legislative session, Senate Bill 149 passed to give schools throughout the state access to TSSA money to use for their needs. Normally, funding is given to the school districts and then is allocated to the schools based on their needs. TSSA gives money directly to the schools, which they can then utilize for their specific needs. School community councils throughout the valley determine how this money was used at their specific school.
In the first year of TSSA, a large sum of money went to every school in the state of Utah. Wednesday’s Town Hall Meeting focused on how much money the schools received and what was accomplished with the funding, then addressed questions and concerns raised about the program.
Superintendent Steven Norton believes that the meeting was a valuable opportunity for parents of CCSD students to learn about the role of their school community councils. “School community councils have a very important role in determining how TSSA money is spent at their schools,” Norton explained. “In the future, parents might want to consider becoming members of their school community councils so they can help determine how that money is spent.”
School community councils are comprised of the school’s principal, elected school employees, and parents. To learn more about your school’s community council and how to get involved, please talk to the school secretary.