The collection of Stephen King novellas inspired classic films like “Stand by Me” and “The Shawshank Redemption.”

A $6,000 Apple MacBook Pro. A $4,800 Trek mountain bike. A $2,000 Crate & Barrel bookshelf. Families bought all of this—and more—with taxpayer dollars through Utah’s school voucher program during the 2024-25 school year, according to a newly released report.

District officials link the enrollment drop to fewer online students after the voucher rollout and to smaller kindergarten classes. High housing costs are also pushing young families out of the area.

The overall number of kids attending traditional and charter K12 schools in Utah has seen its biggest drop in a decade, new data shows. There are 4,873 fewer children attending public school this fall than there were at the start of the 2023-24 school year, amounting to an historic 0.7% drop.

Utah lawmakers set aside $72 million last year to help schools fund critical security upgrades, such as bulletproof window film, security cameras and emergency alert systems.

Two years after Utah lawmakers mandated that all public schools in the state provide students with free period products, students who use them are missing class less often and feeling more confident.

The Salt Lake City school board’s January decision to close the schools came after the district first studied all 27 of its elementaries for potential closure. That study followed a 2022 report from state auditors, in which they criticized the district for keeping schools open with declining enrollment.

This fall, the Alpine School District will implement a new “consolidated” special education class structure, forcing about 150 special education students in grades K-6 to transfer to different schools.