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SALT LAKE CITY — A bill that could cost some school districts more than $500,000 in property tax revenues to support charter schools gained House approval Thursday.
But HB119 would more evenly spread the burden of providing capital funding for charter schools, which don't have taxing authority, said bill sponsor Rep. Bradley Last, R-Hurricane.
"Right now, we have a very good way of equalizing the income tax, which pays for most of our schools," Last said. "On the other hand, with our property tax, we don't equalize. … I will admit, this is a very minor step. I think it's an issue of fairness."
Current law requires school districts to pay 25 percent of local property tax revenues to a statewide capital fund, which benefits both charter and district schools. But the policy creates inequity by allowing districts to select the lesser of two options: Paying 25 percent of per-pupil local revenues, or paying 25 percent of charter schools students' average local revenues.
This places a higher tax burden on districts with smaller revenues.
Last's bill would eliminate the "lesser of" language in the current statute and require districts to pay the full 25 percent of per-pupil local revenues. That means districts with larger revenues would end up paying more than $100,000 to the capital fund.
But by equalizing statewide funding, every school would see an increase in funds, Last said. Equalizing the contributions would produce about $2.8 million in revenue.
While the bill passed the House in a 45-27 vote, it illustrates a growing debate on whether Utah's district and charter schools should continue to be funded differently.
"I think we've recognized the need for charter schools. We love charter schools. They have a role. They fill a need," said Rep. Merrill Nelson, R-Grantsville. "But one of the big concerns from the school districts is that they are the taxing entity locally. So they take the heat when they tax the populous, and when they raise taxes they take the heat. And then they're required to share the proceeds of their taxation with the charter schools."
But until new policies can be made, Last said the bill would even out the tax burden among district schools that contribute to the fund.
"The issue here is we've decided we're going to fund charter schools this way," he said. "The question is, should some districts pay 25 percent and some pay as low as 5 percent? I don't think that's fair."
The bill now waits for Senate approval. Email: mjacobsen@deseretnews.com Twitter: MorganEJacobsen
