This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Utah's public schools will receive a bump in land trust funding after voters approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday night, early elections results show.

At press time, preliminary vote totals showed a vote of 64 percent to 36 percent for Amendment B, which allows managers of Utah's $2.1 billion permanent state School Fund to award earnings — up to 4 percent of the endowment's value — to schools throughout the state.

The prior language of the state's constitution allowed only interest and dividends from the fund to be distributed.

The change in the distribution model, which will take effect in July 2017, is estimated to produce $79 million for Utah schools, compared to $57 million without the amendment.

Utah State Treasurer David Damschen said the amendment will provide for sustained long-term growth of the State School Fund while benefiting Utah schools and students.

"I'm very pleased that Utah voters have approved Constitutional Amendment B," Damschen said. "This much-needed change paves the way for prudent and moderate increases in funding for the school land trust program."

Several education organizations supported the constitutional revision, including the Utah Board of Education, Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, Utah Parent Teacher Association and Education First.

The amendment also received near-unanimous approval from the Utah Legislature earlier this year.

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