$1 Million Grant For Utah School Trust Lands Swap WASHINGTON, D.C. Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) successfully ineluded provisions for a $ 1 million grant today for Utah school children to help pay state expenses in the exchanging of school trust lands locked within the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. "Given the financial drain the federal action is putting on the state education coffers, I felt this was a reasonable request," said Bennett, a member of the Senate Appropriations Appropria-tions Committee. "Utah school children and educators would lose precious resources spent on the cumbersome and costly procedures involved with land exchanges. I am pleased with the Senate's decision to support Utah education as we continue to work out the many details involved with the new monument." Part of the 1998 Fiscal year LaborHealth and Human Services Appropriations bill, the grant will provide $1 million to help facilitate the exchange of school trust lands located inside the monument, replacing money that would have otherwise come from Utah education funds. Although the President said the "National Monument should not and will not come at the expense of Utah's school children," the locking up of school trust lands by the federal government created a financial drain on an already tight state education budget. The 176,000 acres of school (See $1 Million Grant For School Trust Lands Swap On Page 5A) $1 Million Grant For Lands Swap From Front Page trust lands to be used to generate revenue for Utah schools will most likely be exchanged for federal lands outside monument bounda-ries. Without additional help, funds will be used from Utah education resources to support the several expenditures involved with costly land exchanges. A recent report by the Department of Education acknowledged ac-knowledged that the state must use funds to conduct the exchange that could otherwise be used for education. The state has already spent $3 million in efforts to conduct land exchange in other areas of the state as part of the 1993 Inholdings legislation. "I am pleased with my colleagues' col-leagues' efforts to help Utah in this difficult situation and, in good faith, look forward to working with the administration to quickly facilitate a land exchange for lands within the monument," Bennett said. The bill now awaits conference with the House bill.