Jun. 17, 9:00 AM
The Education Interim Committee of the State Legislature holds a public meeting.
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Feb. 23 - Mar. 22
Comcast Newsmakers interviews Robyn Bagley about www.Utah-EducationFacts.com
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Mar. 12
The 2009 Legislative Session concluded on Thursday, March 12th at midnight
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This year marks the 25th anniversary of the landmark report, A Nation at Risk.
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In the 2007-08 school year, Utah spent $8,224 per public school student.
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Charter schools are independent public schools run by parents or non-profits.
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The average class size in Utah is 22.2
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High school students can graduate with an associate's degree and a scholarship worth 75% of college tuition.
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Get the Facts Spending How School Funding Works
As the state’s single largest tax expenditure, it’s critical that Utah citizens have a basic knowledge of how K-12 education funding works in Utah.
In the 2006-07 school year (the most recent year for which actual spending figures are available), over 90% of the funding for Utah’s K-12 public education system came from state and local sources. In fact, 56% of property taxes went directly to local school districts in 2007, and 100% of both individual and corporate state income taxes must be spent on K-12 and higher education as mandated by the Utah State Constitution. About 9% of the funding came from the Federal government.
How most of the funding is distributed to the public school system is determined by by the Utah State Legislature and the Governor who signs bills into laws. In addition, the Utah State Board of Education determines how some of the education funding is spent. A large percentage of state education funding is distributed to schools based on enrollment figures. The remaining is distributed through complicated formulas or dedicated to specific programs.
Almost all of the state funding for traditional public schools goes through the school district. In accordance with state laws and regulations, local school boards decide how the funding they receive from the state government will be spent and distributed to the public schools and programs in their school district. Although a significant percentage of the funding from the state comes with specific guidelines on how it should be spent, decisions about how to spend the majority of state funding is left to the discretion of the local school board. School districts can also influence local property tax rates and the percentage of those taxes that goes towards K-12 education.
With charter schools, state funding goes directly to each individual charter school where the school's governing board decides how to spend the funding in accordance with state laws and regulations. Charter schools also receive a percentage of the local school district's property taxes based on their enrollment.
In the 2006-07 school year, Utah spent $3.64 billion on K-12 education and $7,009 per public school student.
