It might help school districts pay for growth, but the public isn't buying it.

A Dan Jones & Associates poll shows just 38 percent of those surveyed support letting school districts assess impact fees on new homes.

Fifty-six percent of the 400 Utah adults said they oppose the idea, and 5 percent said they didn't know.

The survey was conducted Jan. 2-4 for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV. It has a plus or minus 5 percent error margin.

Rep. Steve Mascaro, R-West Jordan, is sponsoring a bill on the matter. He is undaunted by the poll results.

"I think when (people) hear more about the bill, they might have a better feeling about it," he said. Mascaro views the bill as a way to ease property tax increases.

Jordan Superintendent Barry Newbold, whose Board of Education pushed for school impact fees last fall, agrees. "I might have a different reaction ... if there had been a more targeted, in-depth public information effort about the issue," Newbold said. "I would think until that happens, these numbers might sway back and forth."

But Utah Association of Realtors CEO Chris Kyler says the poll shows the public clearly understands the matter.

"In a time of record surpluses in state revenues ... why in the world would we be considering any new tax increase?" Kyler said. "And this is the worst kind of tax increase anyway, because it's in the form of a hidden fee on a small segment of our population."

Utah law lets cities and counties assess impact fees to cover costs of infrastructure, like sewer or roads, to accommodate new development.

Mascaro's HB74 would open the door for school districts to do the same.

It would allow for a public vote on school impact fees, sort of like a bond election. If approved, new homebuyers would pay the fees as part of closing costs, and title companies would issue a check to the school district for the fee.

But Kyler says bonding would be a more fiscally responsible way to build new schools, as districts typically get good interest rates. He says impact fees would fall on new homebuyers at closing and could slow Utah's humming real estate and construction market.

In October, the Jordan Board of Education called on legislators to let schools assess impact fees to ease the tax burden for building new schools on homeowners and businesses already settled in fast-growing districts.

At the time, a handful of local cities, including West Jordan, Midvale and Sandy, were looking at or passed similar resolutions. The Nebo Board of Education also has added its support, and the Granite Board of Education has discussed it.

Thursday, the State Board of Education will examine the matter in its finance committee.

"Some believe it makes sense to help meet needs in growing areas," state board chairman Kim Burningham said. "Whether it's a majority, I could not tell you."

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E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com