Salt Lake Superintendent Says School Equalization Bill Would Have Consequences

Mar 05, 2008 by Jeff Robinson

(KCPW News) The superintendent of the Salt Lake City School District says the legislature is passing the buck onto the city to solve the problem of school funding equalization in the wake of the legislature's bill last year that is allowing Jordan School District to split. Dr. McKell Withers says Senate Bill 48 will hit poorer homeowners in Salt Lake City hard as it imposes a levy of six hundredths of a cent on the dollar, and have other consequences as well.

"Another way to think about this, in terms of it being shortsighted, is this would be a tax policy that essentially works against revitalizing an urban center, and works in support of urban sprawl because it takes revenue from an urban area and puts it out in a suburban area," said Withers.

Withers says under the bill, Salt Lake City would put $10 million a year into a pool that would be split up among the county's school districts, but it would only receive four million dollars back. The bill passed the House last Friday and will now go to Governor Jon Huntsman's desk.

You can listen to a longer conversation with Withers and Jordan School District Superintendent Barry Newbold on the Midday Metro page.

Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom and 2008 Legislative Coverage. Copyright 2008 KCPW