When Utahns pay their property taxes for local schools, the money raised goes directly to their local school districts — but a bill moving through the Utah Legislature could redirect those dollars to a fund state lawmakers control, allowing them to use the money for other purposes.
SB37 would require school districts to deposit all property tax revenue into Utah’s general fund. The state would still have to pay districts the minimum funding amount — set at $4,494 per student for fiscal year 2025 — but could use income tax revenue to do that, freeing up the local property tax dollars for other state purposes.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, argued the bill “establishes a framework to provide additional resources to expanding school districts by redirecting revenue from districts with declining student enrollments.”
“While we are protecting education funding in this bill, it also allows the state the flexibility to be able to make sure that we can adequately fund other priorities like social services, transportation, public safety,” Fillmore said.
However, education organizations say there’s no guarantee those local property tax dollars would make it back to schools.
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This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.