Property Tax Information

An Open Letter From the
Salt Lake City Board of Education
To Our Property Taxpayers
July 29, 2009

The Salt Lake City Board of Education deeply regrets the property tax increase home and business owners in our city will experience in the coming year when Senate Bill 48, “Equalization of School Capital Outlay Funding,” goes into effect.

Let us be clear: This is not a tax we requested, nor will it yield additional dollars to Salt Lake City School District. None of the estimated $5.7 million in increased revenues will benefit the school children of Salt Lake City; all will be sent to other districts in Salt Lake County, primarily the smaller, reconstituted Jordan School District.

Adding insult to injury, this required redistribution of property tax proceeds comes in a year when a dwindling economy has already forced deep cuts to the district budget. The only “choice” our board had was this: (a) mandate further cuts in school programming so that we could send part of our capital budget to Jordan or (b) allow the legislated tax increase to go through.

Our board members and district administrators fought hard against Senate Bill 48 during the 2008 legislative session and argued for its repeal in 2009. We believe this law does little to resolve inequities among county school districts in money available for new buildings and capital improvements and even less to alleviate such inequities statewide.

We recognize the unique challenges of funding public education in Utah with its relatively low per capita income and growing student population. We will continue to work with local, state, and federal officials to extend the promise of education to all our children, but we will not support legislation that penalizes the taxpayers and disadvantages the children of Salt Lake City.

News Release from Monday's News Conference

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This page was last modified August 3, 2009