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Show School costs to increase $12.4 million next year differences in the level of school support. It is thought by many auth-orities auth-orities that Utah's extensive school equalization program will make it immune from these recent court orders. Other individuals point out, however, that .although the Utah, program does provide a great deal of equalization in school support among the local lo-cal districts, it still might not satisfy all of the objections raised by the courts. An additional $12.4 million in state and local funds will be exipended next year for public school support as a result re-sult of actions taken by the 1972 Budget Session of the Utah Legislature. This was the conclusion reached by Utah Foundation, the private research organization, in its analysis of recent school legislation. leg-islation. The Foundation study points out that more than half of the increased school funds for next year will go for paying the school employee's share of retirement costs. Present . Utah law . provides that both the employer and the employee employ-ee must contribute of total salary cost to the state retirement fund. Beginning in July, the full 9 of the retirement retire-ment cost will be borne by the State. This state obligation for retirement and social security se-curity for public school employees em-ployees next year will be $20.. 7 million. This sum is approximately approx-imately $6.8 million more than will be spent for this purpose during the current (1971-72) school year, and is equivalent to about 14 of total salary outlays. Guaranteed program Under the new school finance finan-ce legislation, each school district dis-trict in Utah Will be guaranteed guaran-teed a school operating program pro-gram of at least $11,910 per , distribution unit. In addition, special allowances totaling $2,052 per distribution unit will be provided for transportation, transpor-tation, retirement, social security, se-curity, teacher leadership, summer programs, libraries, and other categorical programs. pro-grams. The total school operating oper-ating program without election elec-tion will average $13,962 per distribution unit next year, compared with $13,186 per DU In 1971-72. Altogether, state and local expenditures for school operations opera-tions in Utah will total $191.8 million next year. This compares com-pares with $178.9 million that will be expended in 1971-72. These amounts do not include expenditures for building purposes, pur-poses, school lunch, and special spec-ial Federal programs. The report notes that state funds for vocational education were increased from approximately approxi-mately $2.4 million per year to $3.7 million per year by the 1972 legislative session. In addition, ad-dition, local districts will con-tinue con-tinue to receive Federal grants for vocational education. Bonding authorization Another action taken by the 1972 budget session was the combining of the three school building aid programs (continuing (con-tinuing program, bonding unit aid program, and alternate program) into an expanded continuing school building program. The Foundation observes ob-serves that the amount of state aid that w;ll be provided under this consolidated program pro-gram will be approximately equal to the amounts that have been spent under the three separate programs. Foundation anylists point out that recent court decisions in a number of other statec have declared that the school finance laws In those states are illegal, In that the unequal un-equal distribution of taxable wealth among local school districts has resulted in large |