Salt Lake school districts decry equalization plan

A bill aimed at leveling the playing field for school buildings is instead digging up controversy, and not only in Salt Lake County school districts.

The Salt Lake City Council is wondering how it could seek a tax hike to rebuild a run-down public safety building if it comes on the heels of an essential forced property tax increase to send money to the west-side Jordan District.

Salt Lake City School District, granted, would have to raise taxes to make up for the loss in SB48's proposed building money pool. Still, the city would have to hit up the same residents and businesses.

"It's going to be a tough sell," Councilwoman Jill Remington Love said.

"It's true we have a healthy commercial property tax base, but we have very unique needs in our city schools," including services for students who are learning English and are refugees, she said. "Salt Lake City has hired a lobbyist to help us on this issue, and this issue specifically."

Meanwhile, Jordan School District finds itself with a bull's-eye on its chest it didn't really ask for. It understands the angst surrounding the bill. But, Superintendent Barry Newbold says, it needs the help.

SB48, sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Dan Eastman, R-Bountiful, seeks to give nearly $29 million to double the state building aid program, to be available to 25 districts statewide. It also sets up a building pool in Salt Lake County school districts. Murray, Granite, Jordan-east and Salt Lake City will essentially assist Jordan-west district, left with a lot of student growth but less than half its tax base when the east-side voted to secede in November. All said, Jordan-west would get about $19 million in annual building aid, $12 million of it from the countywide pool.

The growth issue was a big one when the district split petition came before east-side voters. Lawmakers last summer pledged to try to more fairly distribute building money, now almost solely raised and spent within school districts, so the issue wouldn't stand in the way of the vote.

Only the east-side got to vote in the split election, according to state law — Herriman city is challenging that now in federal court. Certainly, nobody in Murray, Salt Lake or Granite districts had a say, some Granite Board of Education members noted at Tuesday night's meeting. But now they could be required to pay for that vote.