SALT LAKE CITY — Utahns will have the chance to vote on a constitutional amendment in November that would increase funding for Utah schools at no extra cost to taxpayers.

Amendment B proposes to increase the cap on distributions from Utah's Permanent State School Fund — an endowment created to support public schools — from 4% to 5%, which would increase annual distributions by approximately 13%, or $14 million.

The fund hit a record $3.3 billion in May, setting up Utah's public schools to receive a record $106 million distribution from the fund for the current school year.

And with schools eying even more education funding through the amendment, some of Utah's biggest and most influential education associations and advocacy groups are planting flags in support of Amendment B and asking Utahns to vote in favor of the change.

"It's providing more funding for the children now and not into the future," Corey Fairholm, Utah PTA president, told KSL.com. "We feel that it is important to give the money to education now so that the children, you know, are being able to reach their potential and have education funding."

The Utah PTA is the largest child advocacy group in the state, with over 77,000 volunteer members during the 2022-23 school year. It has been joined in its support of Amendment B by the Utah State Board of Education, Utah Education Association, Utah School Boards Association, Utah School Superintendents Association, Utah Rural Schools Association and Utah Treasurer Marlo Oaks.

The Utah Education Association — Utah's largest teachers' association, made up of 18,000 educators across the state — said in May it supports the amendment to raise the cap to ensure "sustainable, equitable funding for all of Utah's public school students today and in the future."

"The record-setting fund puts Utah in an enviable position of needing to raise the constitutional distributional cap. We believe the fund is in good standing because of the structures created by the state Legislature, comprising a professional board to manage physical assets and an entity to oversee financial assets," Utah Education Association President Renée Pinkney said in a statement to KSL.com.

Distributions from the fund are also unique in the sense that individual schools determine the best use of the funds through their School Community Councils made up of parents and educators. One school might use the funds to hire teaching aides, while another could opt to put more money into college preparation or career training.

Related:

Utah school trust hits record $3.3B

Utah's Permanent State School Fund, an endowment created to support public schools, has hit a record $3.3 billion, Utah Treasurer Marlo Oaks announced Monday.

According to a release from the Utah Land Trusts Protection and Advocacy Office, raising the cap on distributions costs taxpayers nothing, simply increasing the cap on the endowment.

"Through careful analysis, (the School and Institutional Trust Funds Office) has determined the Permanent State School Fund endowment is currently favoring future generations more so than our current generation of students," said Land Trusts Protection and Advocacy Director Kim Christy. "Increasing the cap to 5% provides appropriate balance and will provide more money for today's students, while still allowing for growth and protecting this endowment for future generations."

Both the Utah House and Senate in 2023 unanimously approved HJR18 to place Amendment B on the 2024 ballot.

Fairholm said she sees the amendment as a chance to recoup money not alreadyappropriated to public education.

"We feel that the Legislature is taking money away from those precious kids and putting it in different areas and we want full funding for those public school children that are receiving education," Fairholm said.

Utah's Permanent State School Fund fund has grown from just $50 million 30 years ago to $3.3 billion today, a growth that "illustrates why Utah's Trust System management is one of the most respected in the nation," Christy said in a statement.

In November, Utah voters will get the final say — through the constitutional amendment on the ballot — on whether or not its cap is raised.

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