In July 2004, almost $10 million dollars was distributed to schools statewide to improve student achievement through the School LAND Trust Program. This is the fifth year schools have received the funds. The first year schools received $4.9 million and four years later the statewide distribution has almost doubled.

The 2003 Utah Legislature decided that the most local schools could receive from this unique revenue stream is $12 million. Teachers, administrators and parents across the state are now asking policy makers to support removing the $12 million cap, ensuring that local schools will continue to receive the revenue as the funding increases.

Platforms Support Lifting the $12 Million Cap

In the spring of 2004, delegates to both the Republican and Democratic state conventions voted to support platform changes dealing with school trust revenue. The Democratic Platform states:

Utah Democrats support. . . site-based decision making where parents, teachers, administrators and students working together can solve local problems, and allowing those groups to use all interest and dividends from the permanent school trust fund to improve student performance.

The Republican Platform now includes the following language:

We support the prudent and profitable use of school trust lands. We support all interest and dividends from the permanent State School Fund being distributed to each public and charter school to improve student academic performance.

Over the past five years, more than $35 million (total for five years) has been distributed to schools to improve academic achievement through implementation of school plans prepared by School Community Councils and approved by local school boards through the School LAND Trust Program. The Legislature placed a limit of $12 million annual distribution for the program in 2003. It is possible that the revenues could exceed the $12 million cap this year. It is the intent of many parents and teachers in Utah to remove that cap in the upcoming (2005) legislative session. The Utah Education Association is encouraging its members to use the platform positions to encourage legislators to remove the $12 million cap.

Money for Schools from School Trust Lands

The revenue from 3.5 million acres of the School Trust Lands granted at statehood generated nearly $48 million last year. All revenues go into the permanent State School Fund and are invested by Ed Alter, Utah 's treasurer. The interest and dividends from the fund are distributed annually to fund the School LAND Trust Program statewide. Schools across the state receive their portion of the annual distribution to implement school plans designed to improve student achievement.

School Community Councils in each Utah public school decide how to best use their dividend for academic improvement. For many schools these are the only discretionary funds the school receives.

Cap Limits Schools' Ability to Address Local Needs

Most schools across the state of Utah are using the revenues schools receive through the School LAND Trust Program to provide remediation at the school level. State law asks School Community Councils to identify the greatest academic needs of the school and prepare a plan to address those needs.

Schools can search the School LAND Trust database to see what other schools are doing to address similar needs. (Search and view the plans and the results through a search function found by going to www.schoollandtrust.org . Choose General Information and Search Plans for Ideas.)

Under current law, the maximum annual distribution to schools is $12 million for the program even when the revenues exceed that amount. It is possible that more than $12 million could be available to School Community Councils in the next school year if the cap is removed.

Please contact your legislators and tell them why the revenue from the School LAND Trust Program is important to your students and ask them to remove the cap.