During the Task Force “study phase” I anticipate considerable discussion around the constitutional guarantee that all Utah income tax goes to fund education. This is a promise forged in our Utah State Constitution to ensure our state has an educated population and our public schools are funded in perpetuity. A 1996 Constitution change permitted the income tax to be used for higher education in addition to K-12 public ed. What was once a small percentage of higher education’s budget coming from the income tax is now nearing 100%. After more than two decades of shifting funds, the legislature now faces a growing income tax it is constitutionally bound to use on education. Do our elected representatives have the will to invest in our students? Or, will they work to remove the constitutional guarantee? Or, worse yet, will they seek to cut the tax that funds education?
While I appreciate the focus on education funding, I’m nervous for our students. A report recently released by the Utah Foundation finds that Utah may be falling short of its potential due to lack of education funding. What student potential are we leaving on the table by having the lowest funded schools in the nation? I hope this question comes up in the discussion. I also hope our elected policymakers will recall past promises that as the economy grows, income tax revenues will grow and thereby increase the revenue for public education.
Our Utah educators deserve high praise for having “done so well with so little for so long.” We see the children in our classrooms and we know what curiosity we could inspire, what dreams we could ignite if we only had the resources to support all students in fulfilling their potential.
