They will also debate stiffer penalties for animal cruelty.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. issued the special session call Thursday after discussions with legislative leadership. The session will address three primary issues: clarifying rules for dividing school districts that sprawl across county lines, equalizing the tax burden for school construction in Salt Lake County and, finally, a measure to make animal cruelty a felony. The lawmakers also will use the session to expand prison facilities in Garfield County.

The decision for the special session to grapple with so-called equalization only within Salt Lake County - rather than developing a statewide solution for more fairly distributing school tax funds - is generating its own controversy.

"It doesn't sound like equalization to me if it's not statewide," said Salt Lake District Superintendent McKell Withers, who thinks Salt Lake City taxpayers are going to suffer in a piecemeal approach.

But the political realities of calling a one-day special session require the measure have broad support. "There just wasn't a consensus on the statewide equalization proposal, and there was a consensus on the county-wide plan," said Huntsman spokeswoman Jami Palmer.

At this time, the only schools facing district splits - Granite and Jordan school districts -are in Salt Lake County. And the city of Draper sprawls across Salt Lake and Utah counties and two school districts, complicating a proposed split there.

Withers maintains that too few lawmakers have an understanding of the county-wide proposal, which he says will unfairly burden Salt Lake City property owners. "This is bad news for Salt Lake City taxpayers. The Legislature is going into a special session to raise people's property taxes."

House Speaker Greg Curtis acknowledged the plan would increase taxes in Salt Lake City because it is home to 25 percent of the county's assessed property value - while it also is seeing declining student enrollment.

"The whole concept of equalization is to balance the property taxes with areas of student growth," Curtis said. "How did [Salt Lake County] think we were going to equalize?"

Senate President John Valentine said the people of Salt Lake County need to be assured the property tax burden will not be unfairly distributed. "There are a number of people who really believe that statewide equalization is a good policy and I think we will pick it up in the general session [in January]."

Curtis also supports a statewide equalization formula. "It's the right policy, but it was too difficult to get everyone's arms around it in the special session."

The special session will also address the so-called "Henry's Law," named after an abused dog. The bill failed to pass the Senate in the last session.

Henry's owner blinded the Chihuahua mix with a leaf blower, then threw the dog into an oven, burning him badly. Huntsman, who received a petition bearing more than 4,000 signatures to bring the proposal back, promised to make it an item in a special session.

Henry's Law would make animal torture a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Utah remains one of nine states where animal cruelty remains a misdemeanor.