If you’ve spent any time around public education funding, you’ve probably heard terms like WPU, enrollment growth, basic levy, or property tax equalization. At some point, it may have felt like everyone in the room understood these terms except you.
In solidarity with Utah’s students who are getting back on the school bus soon, let’s get back in the classroom for a crash course on Utah’s public education budget.
The Public Education Funding Framework
When it comes to funding public education, Utah needs to answer three fundamental questions each new school year:
- How many students will we serve next year?
- What will it cost to provide educational services next year?
- How will we pay for those services next year?
These questions may be daunting, but like a student walking into school with a well-packed lunch, the Legislature always arrives at the annual General Session with a complete “lunchbox” of information on public education funding. The Legislature determines funding and policy priorities, but it’s crucial to start discussions with reliable forecasts. The framework ensures that everybody starts with the same information before debating policy and budget decisions.
This lunchbox, known as the Public Education Funding Framework, includes a variety of items, but instead of sandwiches, fruit, or crackers, the Framework provides forecasts and assumptions about student enrollment, local property tax revenue, the Weighted Pupil Unit (WPU), inflationary adjustments, and state funding.
So, who’s in charge of packing this well-balanced and nutritious lunch of funding information?
Meet the Common Data Committee: Lunchbox-Packing Extraordinaires
The Common Data Committee (CDC) may not generate headlines, but it performs one of the most important functions in the public education budget process. The CDC brings together analysts and economists from the Legislative Fiscal Analyst (LFA), Utah State Board of Education (USBE), Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (GOPB), and the Utah State Tax Commission to establish a common set of assumptions before developing budget recommendations.
As seen below, the CDC works to deliver the Public Education Funding Framework to the Legislature, who then appropriates for the new fiscal year.
First Stop: Property Taxes
Each fall, the CDC forecasts property tax collections– one of the primary funding sources for public education in Utah, and crucial to developing the budget.
The property tax forecast discussion includes:
- Personal, residential and commercial property values
- Centrally assessed properties (utilities, railroads, airlines, and mines)
- Collection and delinquency rates
- Redevelopment agency impacts
- Other miscellaneous revenues
The CDC’s forecasting process brings together different perspectives to create a consensus estimate that considers as many factors as possible.
Next: Taking Attendance
You may have heard of the “October 1st count,” when local education agencies (LEAs) report enrollment data to USB, who validates the statewide data before reporting official enrollment figures in mid-October.
The CDC then makes an enrollment forecast for the next school year by examining trends including where enrollment growth and decline occurred, and how students are distributed between districts and charter schools. These changes may appear small statewide but can have significant impacts on individual LEAs.
The WPU: The Star of the Show
The WPU is the foundational building block of the Minimum School Program and represents the standardized funding unit used to distribute funds to LEAs. Many programs are funded by multiplying WPUs by a program-specific dollar value established through the budget process. Even a small change in assumptions can have a meaningful fiscal impact when applied across hundreds of thousands of students. When CDC participants review WPU calculations and come to consensus, they discuss factors such as enrollment assumptions, kindergarten participation, charter school changes, special education adjustments, career and technical education (CTE) add-ons, and hold-harmless provisions.
First Comes Facts, Then Comes Funding
The CDC establishes a common factual foundation, so policymakers can debate priorities, tradeoffs, and outcomes without sorting through the noise of competing enrollment counts or conflicting property tax forecasts.
Just like a student ready for the school year with a new lunchbox and well-packed lunch, this process allows the Legislature to fuel up and focus on turning the WPU formulas into budget recommendations that support Utah students.