Many Utahns may get new 'reading tax'

Residents statewide could be paying higher property taxes to help children read.

At least 25 Utah school districts have approved or are examining tax increases to raise matching money for a $15 million state reading program. Six of those districts would lower other taxes to ease the pain.

But a few school bosses say they're already spending money to improve reading and that ought to be enough to get the state match.

That tactic has the blessing of the state schools chief and the lawmaker who ushered the reading program into law.

But some worry it sends the wrong message to the Legislature. Lawmakers envisioned the program as a 50-50 partnership and even created a new tax so all school districts could invest.

"The Legislature, in giving districts the opportunity to (raise taxes) and do it without a vote of the people, felt like they were providing the dollars that were needed for reading in our schools," said Gary Cameron, executive director of the Utah School Superintendents Association, which discussed potential political fallout in a Friday meeting.

"If there are districts that choose not to do that, I think from a political point of view, there's going to be concern that (lawmakers will say), 'Well, then, reading really isn't your top priority.' Legislators read strange things into certain reactions, and it's never easy to predict."

SB230, sponsored by Sen. James Evans, R-Rose Park, provides $15 million to help kids learn to read by third grade — the time kids stop learning to read and start reading to learn.

Last spring, 23 percent of Utah third-graders scored below proficient in reading on the state core curriculum test (CRT).

The bill, signed into law last March, is a pared-back pet project of Gov. Olene Walker. She wanted to give schools $30 million to nip reading problems in the bud and better prepare kids for higher academic expectations. Lawmakers said they didn't have the money. Heated political wrangling forged a compromise.

Everyone with a state-approved reading plan can get $29,300. The rest will be a 50-50, state-local investment.

"In a perfect world, we would have been able to fund this whole $30 million," Evans said. "But we wanted to have buy-in at the local school districts that this is something they wanted to do. Often, we hear complaints that we just throw money at a problem. But in this program, we're (encouraging) partnership and accountability."

School leaders applaud the idea of more money for reading, which several would spend on reading specialists. They can come up with their portion of the cash in one of three ways:

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