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Show Davis School Operating Funds Will Rise 12 School operating funds will total $61,028,721 in Davis School District. Operating funds for the Davis School District will rise by an estimated $6,525,849 or 12 percent next year as a result of the actions taken by the 1981 Utah Legislature. Estimate operating operat-ing funds for 1981-82 will total $61 ,028,72 1 compared to $54,502,872 during the 1988-81 school year. These were some of the facts reported by Utah Foundation, the private research organization, in their annual analysis of school finance trends in Utah. THE REPORT observes that all appropriation requests re-quests for 1981-82 were drastically reduced by the 1981 Utah Legislature, but that education fared somewhat better than most of the other activities funded. Of the $96 million in increased operating funds appropriated, education received $70 million, or 73 percent of the total. Altogether, state authorizations author-izations for education during the 1981-82 fiscal year totaled $882.9 million with $652.8 million of this sum going for public schools and $230. 1 for higher education. educa-tion. During the 1981-82 school year, local schools will be provided with a basic school program of $1,003 per weighted-pupil unit (WPU) plus added allowances allo-wances for retirement, social security, pupil transportation, trans-portation, and categorical grants. This represents an increase of $57 per WPU or six percent above the 1980-81 basic allowance of $946 per WPU. The increase, in-crease, however, is well below last year's inflation rate of more than thirteen percent. FOUNDATION ANALYSTS point out that local property tax receipts could be $6.9 million short of the revenue estimates contained in the school finance fi-nance bill, and that htis might result in a reduction of as much as $16.50 per WPU next year. This expected local property tax shortfall will result from legislation legisla-tion enacted this year which reduces local property assessment by 20 percent. At the time the measure was enacted, it was thought that the reductions would apply only to residential property. It has since been determined that the reductions will also apply to other types of locally-assessed property, such as commercial and industrial property. A supplemental state appropriation may be needed later in the year to make up for this anticipated shortfall in local revenue. re-venue. Beginning next year, a number of categorical grants for the public schools will be financed through special weighted-pupil unit allowances rather than by special appropriations. Total funds allocated for these special programs were reduced by more than $6 million. Local school districts, however, will be given more flexibility in deciding which of these programs they would like to fund with the money that is available. THE REPORT notes that state and local funds appropriated for local school operations during 1981-82 1981-82 will amount to $549.3 million. This represents an increase of $46.2 million, or 9.2 percent above the 1980-81 appropriation level of 503. 1 million. Not included in-cluded in these figures are funds for local school buildings, operation of the state school office, and Qther educational programs. Appropriations for higher education during 1981-82 1981-82 are nearly $2 million more than the amount recommended recom-mended by the Governor, but are $ 1 3.4 million below the total requested by the State Board of Regents. The $230. 1 million appropriated for higher education in 1981-82 is $18.9 million, or 8.9 percent more than the amount authorized for this purpose during the current (1980-81) fiscal year. ENROLLMENTS AT Utah's public colleges and universities have risen by more than 10,000 students since 1972, but Foundation researchers indicate that they are expected to stabilize at about present levels during the next few years. Toward the latter part of the 1980 decade, college enrollments probably will again begin to rise as the enrollment bulge now working work-ing its way through the public schools reaches college col-lege age. ENROLLMENTS AT Utah's public colleges and universities have risen by more than 10,000 students since 1972, but Foundation researchers indicate that they are expected to stabilize at about present levels during the next few years. Toward the latter part of the 1980 decade, college enrollments probably will again begin to rise as the enrollment buldge now working its way t'mough the public schools reaches college age. |