Utah’s public school finance plan is a modified foundation program; its official title in Utah is The Minimum School Program. The foundation grant, which guarantees each student a minimum level of fiscal support, is only one component of the Minimum School Program. The value of the foundation grant, described in Utah as the value of the Weighted Pupil Unit (WPU), is set each year by the legislature. School districts are required to tax local wealth (assessed valuation of local property) using the program’s Basic Tax Rate, which is also set by the Legislature. The difference between what can be raised locally by the Basic Tax Rate and the amount guaranteed by the state, is paid by revenues generated from the State’s Uniform School Fund, primarily personal income tax—constitutionally earmarked for this purpose. Wealthy districts, using the Basic Tax Rate, capable of raising revenues greater than the value of the foundation grant are subject to recapture. Recaptured funds become revenue to the Uniform School Fund the following year. Finance of the foundation grant …show more content…
There are limits on nearly all these tax rates, and several are equalized to some minimal level by the state’s finance formulas. Additionally, the state contributes significantly to support special services such as special education, applied technology, at risk programs, class size reduction, and adult education programs. Indeed, the foundation grant, those funds that ensure each of Utah’s 550,000 students receive some minimum level of fiscal support, only account for about 2 48% of the state’s Minimum School Program budget for public education. The remainder, as noted above, supports special services and programs, which are detailed in the sections