When state lawmakers on Wednesday consider a school funding bill aimed at easing west-siders' anxiety over possible school district splits, it likely will be with the Salt Lake City Council's opposition.

The council is set to vote this evening on a resolution that would express disapproval of the proposed capital outlay equalization bill, which would pool taxes countywide to be distributed to school districts that need new buildings because of growth.

The idea is to alleviate concerns among west-side schools that if east-side cities bolt from the Jordan and Granite districts, it will leave the fast-growing west in need of more new schools than it can pay for without east-side tax contributions.

But Salt Lake City school officials figure the proposal would mean a net loss of $11 million for them, as Salt Lakers would be taxed for about $15 million but would only get $4 million back.

"There's going to be to Salt Lake City residents a tax increase," Salt Lake City School District spokesman Jason Olsen said. "It's that simple: To do this we're going to have to have a tax increase."

The city's virtually flat growth rate means it would receive a much smaller piece of the capital-funds pie, which would be allocated based on a combination of student population size and growth rate.

"We don't have the needs for new buildings," Olsen said.

City Councilman Dave Buhler, who is running for mayor, asked to have the resolution added to the agenda Monday after learning of the school district's concerns.

"It's kind of like you're living next to a couple and they decide to get a divorce, and then the judge orders you to pay the alimony," Buhler said. "True equalization would be statewide and would be fair to everybody. What this does is directly hurt Salt Lake City schoolchildren and taxpayers."

The Legislature is taking up the issue in Wednesday's special legislative session after the Salt Lake County Council has delayed putting school district splits on the ballot. All east-side cities have expressed the desire to split from their respective school districts, with the exception of Murray, which already has its own district.

Buhler said he has the support of enough council members that he expects the resolution to pass.

"It's a legitimate city issue," Councilwoman Jill Remington Love said. "We need the best public schools we can have. We have a greater level of poverty than probably any other community in the valley."

The equalization bill, she worries, "could put the district in real jeopardy."

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