Costs for school activities spell hardship for many Utah families; see B1.
Utahns prefer that general taxes be increased rather than school fees if more money is needed for education, the latest Deseret News/KSL-TV poll shows.Pollster Dan Jones & Associates found that if more money had to be raised for Utah schools, 47 percent favored a general tax increase, 29 percent favored raising special school fees, 3 percent wanted some combination of the two, 14 percent suggested some other manner, while 7 percent didn't know.
Utah's public education system is one of the more financially strapped systems in America. Utah has some of the largest class sizes and spends less per student than other states. To find more money for schools, more and more administrators and school boards are looking to fees. In some cases, parents who believed their property taxes were paying for their child's education find hundreds of dollars in fees accompanying high school registration or special classes.
In 1986, in part to accommodate long-held traditions of high school fees that were actually illegal, the Utah Constitution was changed to allow fees in secondary schools - junior and senior high schools. Fees for special classes, like music, drama and art, and for special programs, like pep club or some team sports, had been used for years in some schools and school districts.
Also, some secondary schools charge book or other resource fees.
The Constitution now reads: "Public elementary and secondary schools shall be free, except the Legislature may authorize the imposition of fees in the secondary schools."
If a student can prove that he or she can't afford such fees, school districts must waive them. There's been some question how willingly school officials provide such waivers, and 3rd District Judge John Rokich has just ordered school districts to clearly notify students and parents that fee waivers are available.
In an effort to get students and parents who use the school system to pay more for the right, some advocate a broader range of school fees. Others argue that property taxes are supposed to provide a "free" education to all students, and such things as book fees are wrong.
While younger Utahns don't like the idea of school fees, Jones found that those 56 or older - citizens who likely don't have any or many children in the public school system anymore but who still pay property taxes to support the schools - fees are more popular.
Among older Utahns, 34 percent said they favor a general tax increase if schools need more money, while 32 percent said fees should be raised, Jones found.
Deseret News/KSL-TV poll
Which of the following alternatives would you prefer in an effort to raise money for public education?
47% support a general tax increase for education
29% support increased student fees such as fees for books or for special classes like music, science, physical education or team sports
3% support a combination
14% support other sources
7% don't know
Conducted July 27-28, 992.
Sample size: 595. Error: +/-4%
Conducted by Dan Jones & Associates