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Mark Huntsman: Amendment G would protect education funding without raising taxes

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Oquirrh Hills Middle School eighth grade math instuctor Pinyi Yao introduces himself and where he is from in China to his classroom on the first day of school. Pinyi Yao, 27, a Chinese National teaching 8th and 9th grade math welcomes his students on their first day of the school year at Oquirrh Hills Middle School, August 20, 2019 in Riverton.

As voters across the state receive their ballots in the mail, there is more to consider than who will win the White House and control Congress. Farther down the ballot is an opportunity to change the way we fund education across our state. I ask you to strongly consider voting yes on Constitutional Amendment G.

As the chair of the Utah State Board of Education, I think it has been wonderful to see the strong relationship the state board has been able to forge with the Legislature in pursuing what is best for Utah students. The relationship has never been stronger. So, when legislative leaders, Gov. Gary Herbert and education stakeholders recognized the need to strengthen the protections for education funding, we welcomed the opportunity to work collaboratively on solutions that could help with several issues.

Educational leaders in the state, including the Utah Education Association, the Utah Parent Teacher Association, the Utah School Boards Association and the Utah School Superintendents Association, joined the state board, governor and legislative leaders to craft a plan to protect, grow and stabilize funding for public education K-12.

The plan created includes Amendment G, which allows services for children along with individuals with disabilities to now also receive a portion of the funds collected from income tax. This may appear to only lessen the amount of money available for public education. However, in addition to Amendment G, the Legislature, in collaboration with the state board and educational stakeholders, agreed to a companion bill, House Bill 357, which stabilizes and increases protected funding for public education.

The passage of HB357 protects public education funding by moving the Minimum School Program funding (think of this as public education’s annual base budget) to a constitutionally protected account to ensure expenditures are dedicated specifically for K-12 public education.

[Read more: M. Royce Van Tassell: Amendment G will help fund Utah schools]

Currently, although income tax is set aside in our constitution for education, there is no guarantee for how much of that funding is set aside for public education vs. higher education. HB357 solves this issue. When the Legislature convenes in January, that means we could begin budget discussions with approximately $3.4 billion in guaranteed funding for public education.

HB357 also grows the funding by automatically adjusting the public education base budget for inflation and for enrollment growth each year before any other group may receive a portion of the income tax revenues. This includes an adjustment in the weighted pupil unit (WPU), which means the per-student funding will keep pace with our increasing number of students as well as protect public education funding from a loss of purchasing power over time.

To stabilize education funding long term, HB357 will also begin to set aside a portion of the ongoing income tax collected to meet future education needs, with the aim to set aside funds sufficient to sustain education funding through a two-year economic downturn. Thus, another downturn like the recession would not have an adverse effect on education funding as it did in 2009 and 2010.

To make the math work, policymakers opted not to increase taxes or eliminate the current constitutional earmark dedicating income tax funds to education. Instead, the public is asked to approve broadening the earmark to include services for children and individuals with disabilities.

Educators are increasingly focused on the role that physical and mental health plays in academic success. This constitutional change will allow those additional services to be provided to children by noneducation entities.

By voting for Constitutional Amendment G, Utahns are showing their support for the plan, which includes the changes enacted by HB357, as a collaborative package solution to addressing tax imbalances while also providing education leaders with a much-needed stable funding base.

Of course, we will continue to work with the Legislature and governor to build on that base to fulfill the Utah State Board of Education’s goals in the areas of increasing the WPU, early learning, effective educators and leaders, safe and healthy schools and personalized learning.

I strongly encourage you to join me and education leaders across our state in voting “yes” on the plan, by voting “yes” for Constitutional Amendment G.

Mark Huntsman

Mark Huntsman is chair of the Utah State Board of Education.