Homeowners probably would see their taxes go up in the three losing districts if the bill, which will be debated at a special legislative session Wednesday, becomes law. The proposal has changed frequently and is so new that several school district leaders were still unsure of the facts Monday as the latest details became available.

But Salt Lake City School District widely broadcast its concerns after learning the district would be hardest hit, losing $11.3 million and requiring a 17.7 percent property tax increase to make up the difference.

For the owner of a home worth $294,472, the average market value in the district, that would mean a tax increase of $132.51 for the year.

"It would be a choice between very draconian cuts in everything the school district does or a tax increase," said Salt Lake Board of Education President Doug Nelson.

Equalization aims to make districts share the cost of school construction, a particular concern for some politicians if the Granite and Jordan districts split as has been proposed.

A portion of all four districts' capital outlay levy - money used for construction, renovation, equipment and other items - would be pooled and redistributed through a formula based on enrollment and growth. Not all districts are already taxing at the rate the bill requires. The amount a district would receive would depend on the number of new students coming in and its total enrollment.

"This whole debate centers on a principle of a statewide education system," said Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, an equalization proponent. "A statewide education system presumes that we tax the wealth where it exists to educate and house the students where they reside."

But basing the plan on student growth "cannot be fair," said Murray School District Superintendent Richard Tranter, whose district stands to lose about $627,000 from the bill, and would need to raise taxes.

"Districts like Murray and Granite and Salt Lake have older, existing buildings that need constant upkeep and renovation and remodeling," he said. "We couldn't sustain a $600,000 loss."

Several districts criticized the use of the word "equalization" when their own students would see money go out the door.

"This isn't equalization we're talking about," said Martin Bates, assistant to the superintendent in Granite. "This is going to make Granite raise taxes to break even."

Granite would lose $1.9 million under the proposal.

Even beyond the content of the bill, critics took issue with the last-minute release of the details. Nelson, of the Salt Lake school board, called it "hurried and slipshod politics."

"That is not a good, democratic legislative process," he said.

At least a few legislators do not see a special session as the best forum to rewrite equalization funding, even on a county basis. The danger, said Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake, is the creation of bad public policy.

"This isn't really about equalization from a public policy education standpoint," he said. "This is about assuaging people's fears, mostly people who live on the west side of the valley."

Although the discussion about more equally funding school buildings has gone on for years at the Legislature, the conversation recently crested as the potential division of Granite and Jordan school districts charged forward. Politicians hope a redistribution of tax money may make the division more palatable to voters. Without it, west-side residents in split districts would carry a greater tax burden.

A statewide equalization plan, which has been discussed over the past several months, is "too complex" to be considered at a special session, Stephenson said. It is expected to be considered at the upcoming general session next year.

"The issue is that it has to be statewide if it's to be equitable," he said.

Jordan Superintendent Barry Newbold, whose residents could potentially see their taxes go down from the proposal, said the Legislature will be dealing with a philosophical question Wednesday.

"The question is at what cost, if you will, does county equalization come?" he asked. "It just so happens in Salt Lake County that there is one district that is benefited and three that are not."

---

* JULIA LYON can be contacted at jlyon@sltrib.com or 801-257-8748.