Utah Legislature: 2 bills aim to help school districts financially

SALT LAKE CITY — Two bills that would help school districts financially during these troubled economic times passed through the House Education Committee Tuesday.

HB295, by Rep. Ken Sumsion, R-American Fork, would allow school districts, for two years, to take the money reserved for building upkeep and repairs and use it for classrooms, including reducing class sizes, hiring teachers and buying computers. The bill passed unanimously.

HB137, by Rep. Wayne Harper, R-West Jordan, would allow sales tax to fund education by raising it by one-tenth of 1 percent to net $41 million. The bill passed with two dissenting votes.

Both bills move to the House for debate.

Jordan School District Superintendent Barry Newbold said the fund flexibility bill would be a tremendous help to districts statewide which are facing shortfalls as a result of the depressed economy. The bill would be helpful to "everyone who is trying to weather that storm," he said.

Jordan District is facing a $30 million deficit due to the recession and the recent district split. The Jordan School Board is looking at different budget cutting measures, including eliminating 500 positions, 250 of which would be teachers.

Newbold said switching capital monies to operations funds may mean the district wouldn't have to lay off as many teachers and therefore class sizes wouldn't increase as much.

"We could significantly reduce what is currently being considered by the board to balance the budget," Newbold said, adding $12.5 million would eliminate the need to lay off teachers.

Jordan District has approximately $40 million in its capital fund. The district is also getting about $11.7 million from the countywide equalization program in which the other four districts in Salt Lake County contribute to Jordan to help build schools for the district's burgeoning enrollment.

"We certainly couldn't use all our capital fund (for operations)," Newbold said. Some building projects, such as carpets and remodels, can be delayed, but others projects, such as roofs and expansions, are a safety priority for students.

Rep. Merlynn Newbold, R-South Jordan, expressed concern that the fund flexibility bill would be a short-term solution to a long-term problem, adding funding teachers is "an ongoing issue." However, Rep. Don Ipson, R-St. George, said, "Any time we can give flexibility to local school districts, I think we should."

Regarding the sales tax bill, Newbold said he believes there needs to be more lawmaker dialogue and debate on the issue.

"Bringing public education into the sales tax revenue stream I think has some merit, although the volatility of sales tax over time is not as stable as property tax and there is concern about that … especially when the economy is down."

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