On Tuesday, legislators agreed that both statewide and countywide equity plans should be considered, but they prioritized the statewide proposal as the long-term solution to a problem that's been around for decades. Neither of these plans create literal equality in how much money districts will have to spend on new construction.
Many members of the Legislature's Education Interim Committee and the Local Issues Task Force expressed their strong support for equalization, and said the time was right to move forward.
"We should seize on this moment when we have momentum to make an impact on the state," said Rep. Aaron Tilton, R-Springville.
Lawmakers acknowledge the push to more fairly distribute money to pay for school district growth is a response to the potential division of the state's two largest districts - Granite and Jordan - and a means to provide dollars for districts that may suddenly become tax poor. The issue of equally funding construction is not something new, and some legislators said they wanted to study the issue more before taking action. Others were more sanguine.
"We have a statewide education system; therefore, we ought to be equalizing on a statewide basis regardless of how it might impact anybody in the first year," said Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper.
The statewide plan would impose a new levy to fund construction based on growth needs and property tax value per student. That revenue would be pooled.
After a district receives its share, its tax rate would be adjusted up or down so that each district would earn the same amount of revenue for school construction.
The countywide plan would impose a uniform levy in Salt Lake County. The bulk of the money would be distributed in response to enrollment growth. Some of that money would also be allocated based on district enrollment and remodeling requests.
Several legislators raised concerns about how that plan might negatively affect Salt Lake City School District, which is not growing at the rate of some of its neighbors, and could lose millions of dollars.
In related business, the joint committee also approved several proposed changes to the school-district-division law. For six years after a district split, students would be allowed to attend the secondary school that would have been their school within the old district's boundaries.
"It's really to soften the effect on the students that are already there," said Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Cottonwood Heights. "This doesn't affect the closure issue."
A district division may eventually affect whether some schools remain open.
Members also approved a decrease to the number of days needed for the clerk to certify a ballot request, which will make it possible for the Salt Lake County Council to delay its decision until later this month. The original version of the law required 45 days.
"We are coming up against a deadline," Walker said. "If the County Council doesn't vote to put it up on a ballot until the end of August, we don't have 45 days to put it on the ballot."
Trimming that time frame could have an added bonus, said Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake.
"I think changing it to five days would get you into court faster," he said, referring to opponents of the school district split who may file a lawsuit. "A court would probably not take up a case unless it's been certified for the ballot."
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* JULIA LYON can be contacted at jlyon@sltrib.com or 801-257-8748.
