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SALT LAKE CITY — The Senate Education Committee passed a bill Tuesday that would raise the amount of money some school districts would be required to pay in charter school capital funding.
HB119 would require some districts to pay more than $500,000 in additional funds to support ongoing capital budgets for Utah schools by requiring all school districts to pay a full 25 percent of local property tax revenues, which some districts are doing already.
Inequity exists in the current statute, which allows districts to pay the lesser of two options: paying one-fourth of per-pupil local revenues, or paying one-fourth of charter schools students' average local revenues. This puts a greater burden on districts with fewer financial resources.
The bill would equalize the burden imposed on districts and the portion of property tax revenues they contribute to the charter school replacement fund, according to bill sponsor Rep. Brad Last, R-Hurricane.
"What it amounts to is that more of the funding for the local charter schools will come from the local citizens and their property taxes," Last said. "This is something that I think is a fairness issue and something that needs to be done."
The change wouldn't impact individual taxpayers unless higher-paying districts, such as the Canyons or the Salt Lake City school districts, decided to increase their tax levy to compensate for the higher costs, he said.
The bill has already passed the House now awaits approval by the full Senate.
— Morgan Jacobsen
