Chapter 46: Utah

Utah’s public school finance plan is a modified foundation program, known as the Minimum School Program (MSP).¹ The foundation grant guaranteeing each student a minimum level of fiscal support is only one component of the MSP. The value of the foundation grant, named the Weighted Pupil Unit (WPU), is set each year by the legislature. School districts are required to tax local wealth (assessed valuation) 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 from revenue generated by the state’s Uniform School Fund—primarily personal income tax constitutionally earmarked for this purpose. Wealthy districts, using the Basic Tax Rate, are capable of raising revenue greater than the value of the foundation grant, with these monies subject to recapture. Recapture funds become revenue to the Uniform School Fund in the following year. Revenue to the foundation grant is heavily supported by the state, which pays about 80% of total. On average, local school district revenue accounts for $652 (19%) of the $3,395 guarantee by the state per WPU. Such an active effort on the part of the state accounts for the high degree of fiscal equity evident in the state’s school finance plan.