Vote possible on school-funding plan

The Salt Lake County Council is considering asking Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. to call the Legislature into a special session to equalize the burden of school construction and operations on a county or statewide level.

On Tuesday, the council is scheduled to vote on a resolution that "will basically say we are in favor of putting this district split on the ballot for both districts, as long as an equalization plan is finalized by the Legislature before the election," Councilman Jeff Allen said.

The council is expected to vote Aug. 7 on whether to put questions on the November ballot to split both the Granite and Jordan school districts.

Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon said the council should wait to put the questions on the ballot until there is a system in place to build and operate schools countywide.

The legislative Education Interim Committee earlier this month also asked for a special session to work out those issues. Huntsman said he would look at the proposal but would need consensus first.

Legislators have been working on two competing proposals: a $100 million statewide building aid program proposed by Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper; and a countywide resource-sharing proposal by House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy. The immediate plan would be to ensure a remaining west-side district isn't left with a ton of growth and a small tax base to accommodate it.

Curtis said he and Stephenson are working on a compromise bill for a potential special session.

"I'm firmly committed to trying to get this thing on the ballot and an equalization vote," Curtis said Friday.

But convincing legislators outside of Salt Lake County to come to the Capitol for a special session to deal with what is primarily a Salt Lake County issue could prove challenging, he added.

"That's why if the county puts it on the ballot, there's at least an impetus. ... It's not a hypothetical issue," Curtis said. "There needs to be a motivation."

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