This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It's an old myth held dear by many Utahns, including far too many state legislators: While it's true that Utah spends less per student on public education than any other state, taxpayers are forking over more of their personal income for schools that other Americans.
That once was true. But now it decidedly is not.
In 1995 Utah ranked eighth in the nation in tax revenue going to public education for every $1,000 of personal income. A Utah Foundation study shows that in the following 14 years, Utah dropped to 26th. In actual dollars, the "effort," as researchers call it, put toward public education by taxpayers decreased from $56 for every $1,000 earned to $48.
The other common excuse for Utah's below-cellar-level investment in its children's education is the Beehive State's birth rate, the highest in the country. That Utahns are the most fertile Americans does, certainly, affect the per-pupil spending number. But as an excuse for failing to even try to fund education adequately, it's a bucket that holds no water.
Poll after poll shows that Utahns favor increasing education funding, that they are worried about declining test scores and graduation rates and that they realize having the nation's largest class sizes threatens their children's learning.
Recent polls even show that a majority of Utahns would pay more in taxes if that money were earmarked specifically for schools.
Nevertheless, the Legislature, year after year, ignores the wishes of constituents and continues to chip away at the ability of public schools to meet the needs of Utah children all its children, including the growing number of minority students who are dropping out in alarming numbers.
This year, the Legislature overrode the governor's veto of a bill that makes transportation king in terms of future state budgets. That bill, now a law, tags 30 percent of new sales tax revenue for road building and maintenance.
But probably the worst blow to public education funding was a Legislature-promoted constitutional amendment in 1996 that allows income tax revenue to be used, not just for public education as previously mandated, but also for higher education. That political maneuver made it possible for legislators to take money from the education fund by cutting higher ed's budgets and moving those monies elsewhere.
The devastating effect of those losses was compounded by the recession, when increases of 10,000 or more new students each year has gone unfunded.
Utah's abysmal decline in education funding is not due to any lack of effort by Utah taxpayers. The blame rests squarely on the Legislature's doorstep.