Over the past few months several school boards proposing property tax hikes have blamed charter schools for forcing them to raise taxes. While there is a superficial appeal to that claim, it simply isn’t true.
For as long as they’ve had authority to impose a property tax, school boards have been raising them. When they raise property taxes, school boards routinely point the finger of blame at some other — any other — entity.
For example, last year the Salt Lake City School Board had the audacity to deny it was raising property taxes — in a hearing only held when property taxes are raised! That’s just one of dozens of examples of school districts that regularly try to avoid responsibility for raising taxes. This year it’s charter schools. Next year it will be the Legislature. Only rarely will they acknowledge the real reason: rather than being frugal, they want more taxpayer money.
Of the 14 school boards proposing property tax hikes this year, five — Granite, Murray, Salt Lake City, Grand and Carbon — have specifically fingered charter schools in justifying their tax hikes. As these districts tell the story, charter schools are to blame because HB119 requires more of their property tax revenue go to the Local Replacement Fund (LRF), a mechanism the Legislature created several years ago to make up for the fact that charter schools don’t, and by definition cannot, impose property taxes.
That story is true, as far as it goes. Under HB119, these five school districts will pay a bit more into the LRF. However, these five school districts have an impressive (some might say depressing) record of proposing property tax hikes.
According to the Utah State Tax Commission, these five school districts have proposed 14 property tax hikes since 2011. Utah’s other 36 school boards have only proposed 25 property tax hikes over the same time. In other words, HB119 simply gave school boards that were already inclined to hike taxes a convenient target to blame.
To be clear, charter schools do not impose property taxes. Charter schools do not receive property taxes. They do not spend property taxes.
Charter schools are many things to many people. For some families, charter schools offer an opportunity for greater parental input and involvement in their children's education, plus smaller class sizes. For other families, charter schools provide an education better tailored to their children’s unique needs. For still others, charter schools offer a safer environment. In every case, in Utah a charter school can only succeed when it persuades parents that it offers something better than the available alternatives.
One thing charter schools are not is a reason to raise property taxes. That blame lies solely with the members of the school board voting to hike property taxes.
Royce Van Tassell is executive director of the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools.