How much will an equalization bill awaiting the governor's signature truly equalize school building funds?

SB48 will extend the now $42 million Capitol Outlay fund to every school district — except tax-base rich Park City — pulling 15 school districts into the program with a minimum $50,000 to repair roofs, build schools or pave a parking lot. The districts span the state, from rural districts like Kane to urban districts like Provo.

But that money is more subsidization than equalization, as Rep. Aaron Tilton, R-Springville, puts it. The real equalization affects only Salt Lake County school districts under the bill, sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Dan R. Eastman, R-Bountiful.

Murray, Salt Lake City, Granite and the east-side Jordan districts must pool their tax dollars under the bill to give $12.2 million to the new west-side Jordan District, what's left over from the state's largest school district following the November district split vote.

But they'll probably have to raise taxes to make up for the losses. Salt Lake City loses the most money under the bill — $6 million — leading Superintendent McKell Withers to ask the governor to veto the bill he calls an unfair burden on city residents, many of whom have a fixed or low income and could face a $50 to $90 tax hike on a $250,000 house..

"I don't see any alternative," Withers said, adding money for buildings is already tied up in bond payments and contracts. "Do you not replace roofs or parking lots for three years? ... You can't tell contractors building Clayton and Hillside (middle schools), 'Do you care if we pay you two or three years from now?"'

Jordan Superintendent Barry Newbold finds himself in an unpopular situation. He appreciates the money — the west-side district needs some $800 million worth of buildings in the coming decade — but acknowledges the bill didn't address the statewide equalization question lawmakers set out to answer.

Equalization came to the forefront when Jordan's east side seceded, taking more than half the district's tax base and fewer than half the students with it. The question is, should school districts with vastly different levels of tax base — big businesses to modest cottages — have to solely shoulder the cost of buildings? Or should money for buildings no longer be primarily funded by local property taxes, with some property-tax revenues pooled and doled based on need?

Several legislators wanted to equalize property taxes statewide, but an attempt by Tilton to do so didn't get the votes. Many legislators noted the countywide equalization is a first step toward a statewide program, where there likely would be many winners and losers.

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E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com