Senate Democrats seek $245,000 to sustain University of Utah Reading Clinic

Senator Escamilla presented a request to the Economic and Community Development Appropriation Subcommittee on Feb. 10 to cover a $245,000 shortfall for the University of Utah Reading Clinic, a literacy clinic that has operated since 1999.

Escamilla said the program provides hands-on training in classrooms, serves more than 7,000 students and about 800 teachers, and has been supported historically through targeted appropriations. She described the request as a continuation of prior Senate Democratic priorities going back to earlier sponsors and minority leaders, and asked the committee to consider the supplemental funding to sustain services after recent university budget restructuring.

The senator concluded by inviting questions; committee members did not raise questions during the time allotted. The request was considered along with other items during the subcommittee's prioritization process and will be resolved through the Executive Appropriations Committee and subsequent appropriation steps.