FY 2016 Appropriation

First authorized by the Legislature in 1954, the Voted Leeway Program is a property tax levy authorized to cover a portion of the costs of operation and maintenance of the state supported Minimum School Program in a school district. In order to impose the property tax levy, the Voted Leeway must receive a majority vote by the school district electorate. Revenue generated through a district's Voted Leeway may be budgeted and expended as authorized by the local school board.

Formula -- When including the Board Leeway levy, a district may impose a Voted Leeway rate of up to 0.002 to generate property tax and state aid revenue to supplement the district's general fund costs. In addition to the property tax, the State provides a "state guarantee" for each school district levying the Voted Leeway levy. The guarantee is a statutorily set dollar amount of 0.0001 of tax rate per Weighted Pupil Unit (WPU).

Statute provides for an annual increase in the state guarantee rate. Statute states that the rate "shall be indexed each year to the value of the weighted pupil unit for the grades 1 through 12 program by making the value of the guarantee equal to 0.00963 times the value of the prior year's weighted pupil unit for the grades 1 through 12 program. The guarantee shall increase by 0.0005 times the value of the prior year's weighted pupil unit for the grades 1 through 12 program for each succeeding year subject to the Legislature appropriating funds for an increase in the guarantee."

Funding History

Funding Issues

Enrollment Growth

Total enrollment in the public education system is projected to increase by 7,951 students in FY 2016, with a total enrollment of 630,104. Additional students in the system increases the cost to certain programs as designated by statute or legislative precedent. Adjustments are made in the following programs based on consensus enrollment and WPU estimates: Basic School Program: $24,284,600 Funds an additional 8,380 WPUs in FY 2016. Related to Basic School Program: $10,698,800 Provides a 1.3% increase to the following programs: Pupil Transportation, Enhancement for At-Risk Students, Youth-in-Custody, Adult Education, Enhancement for Accelerated Students, and Concurrent Enrollment. Provides an increase of $4,459,600 to the Local Replacement and $83,200 to the Administrative Cost programs for charter schools. Finally, increases th eamount for the Educator Salary Adjustment by $3,429,500 to account for additional teachers hired by LEAs in fall 2014. Voted & Board Local Levy: $23,023,600 Adjusts funding levels to provide the state guarante rate for all qualifying WPUs. Increases the state guarantee rate as provided in statute from $27.92 per WPU to $30.11 per WPU. The total local property tax revenue contribution to the cost of the Basic School Program is expected to increase by $8,462,600 in FY 2016. This amount works as an off-set to the total increased cost of the Basic School Program above.
Appropriation Overview

During the 2015 General Session, the Legislature appropriated for Fiscal Year 2016, $392,419,300 from all sources for Voted Local Levy Program. This is a 21.2 percent increase from Fiscal Year 2015 revised estimated amounts from all sources. The total includes $79,345,500 from the General/Education Funds, an increase of 30.6 percent from revised Fiscal Year 2015 estimates.

Appropriation Adjustments

The following appropriation adjustments were made during the 2015 General Session:

DescriptionOngoingOne-Time Enrollment Growth$18,602,500$0
OngoingOne-TimeFinancing Source
$18,602,500$0Education Fund
Total enrollment in the public education system is projected to increase by 7,951 students in FY 2016, with a total enrollment of 630,104. Additional students in the system increases the cost to certain programs as designated by statute or legislative precedent. Adjustments are made in the following programs based on consensus enrollment and WPU estimates: Basic School Program: $24,284,600 Funds an additional 8,380 WPUs in FY 2016. Related to Basic School Program: $10,698,800 Provides a 1.3% increase to the following programs: Pupil Transportation, Enhancement for At-Risk Students, Youth-in-Custody, Adult Education, Enhancement for Accelerated Students, and Concurrent Enrollment. Provides an increase of $4,459,600 to the Local Replacement and $83,200 to the Administrative Cost programs for charter schools. Finally, increases th eamount for the Educator Salary Adjustment by $3,429,500 to account for additional teachers hired by LEAs in fall 2014. Voted & Board Local Levy: $23,023,600 Adjusts funding levels to provide the state guarante rate for all qualifying WPUs. Increases the state guarantee rate as provided in statute from $27.92 per WPU to $30.11 per WPU. The total local property tax revenue contribution to the cost of the Basic School Program is expected to increase by $8,462,600 in FY 2016. This amount works as an off-set to the total increased cost of the Basic School Program above.
Local Revenue used in MSP Formulas$10,176,500$0
OngoingOne-TimeFinancing Source
$10,176,500$0Local Revenue
Estimated additional property tax revenue generated by local school districts in FY 2016 and factors into state funding formulas for the Voted & Board Local Levy Program. The state does not collect this revenue, however the allocation of state funding is dependent on the amount of revenue each school district generates per WPU.
Property Tax Equalization Amendments$44,030,300$0
OngoingOne-TimeFinancing Source
$44,030,300$0EFR - Minimum Basic Growth Account
Enactment of this legislation could increase budgeted local revenue to the Minimum School Program by $75,000,000 annually. Growth in local revenue decreases Education Fund amounts used to equalize the Basic School Program. This bill transfers the Education Fund savings into a newly created Minimum Basic Growth Account. Enactment of this legislation could increase the local property tax component of the Basic School Program by $75,000,000 annually. The result is a decrease in Education Fund expenditures used to equalize the Basic School Program equal to $75,000,000 annually. The Education Fund expenditure decrease is transferred to a newly created Minimum Basic Growth Account, which is then expended using the Voted and Board Levy, Capital Foundation and Enrollment Growth formulas.
Statute
  • UCA 53A-17a-133 -- authorizes the Voted Leeway Program, establishes the state funded guarantee thresholds, and outlines election procedures for school districts implementing a Voted Leeway.

    The State Board of Education's Administrative Rule R277-422-3 provides administrative procedures associated with the governance of the Voted Leeway Program.

A combination of local property tax revenue and state Education Fund revenue support the cost of the program. In FY 2015, the Legislature appropriated a total of $319.6 million to the program with $60.7 million coming from the Education Fund.

In FY 2015, the Legislature authorized an increase in the state guarantee contribution from $27.36 to $27.92 per weighted pupil unit.

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COBI contains unaudited data as presented to the Legislature by state agencies at the time of publication. For audited financial data see the State of Utah's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports.