The Jordan School District could potentially raise one of its tax levies to a higher rate than any other district in the state to help cover its shortfall if a bill that gained House support Monday passes.

Late Monday afternoon, the House passed HB463, which would allow districts remaining after a split, such as Jordan, to raise one of their property tax levies to a rate higher than currently allowed by state law.

Jordan would only be able to raise the rate for six years to help it deal with fallout from the split, and voters would have to approve the higher amount.

"It's a great opportunity to allow them to address this issue on a local level and if they believe it's important enough to take that action they will be allowed to," said bill sponsor Rep. Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns. "We're not requiring them to."

The bill would allow Jordan to raise its voted leeway from the current legal cap of .002 to .004 for board and voted leeways combined.

If voters approved the full increase, the district could raise about $25 million, said Burke Jolley, district deputy superintendent for business services. Voters would not have to raise the tax to the full .004 rate --- they could raise it only part way if they choose.

Now, the district faces a $30 million shortfall that it's chosen to cover by eliminating 500 jobs and raising class sizes.

"This kind of takes it out of the hands of the politicians," Hutchings said. "They have some other alternatives the bureaucrats have decided not to take advantage of, and now this puts it into the hands of the voters in the district."

Jolley said the bill would be a "nice tool to have," but "it is a tax increase and there are positives and negatives that go with that." He said he's not sure how the board would react to it.

Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, said his only concern was the lateness of the bill's introduction. The bill was numbered Monday, hit the floor late the same day afternoon and did not go through committee like many other bills. The legislative session ends Thursday.

But ultimately, the House passed the bill 46-21. The bill now moves to the Senate.