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House passes Minimum School Program Act with WPU increase and charter reporting and deadline changes
Summary
The Utah House passed House Bill 3, the Minimum School Program Act, approving a 3.5% increase in the Weighted Pupil Unit, a roughly $2.2 billion package of school funding, a reporting requirement extension to include charter schools, and a moved charter-approval deadline; vote was 71‑0.
The Utah House passed House Bill 3, the Minimum School Program Act, after extended debate and several floor amendments, voting 71‑0 to send the bill to the Senate for further consideration.
Representative Snow, sponsor of the bill, said the fiscal note shows a total appropriation of about $2.2–$2.257 billion including roughly $1.8 billion to the Uniform School Fund, $9.9 million from a restricted account, $446 million in local revenue and a $27.2 million allocation to the school building program. Snow said the minimum school program funding in the bill represents a 5% increase over last year’s budgeted figures and raises the Weighted Pupil Unit (WPU) from $2,182 to $2,258 (a 3.5% increase).
The House adopted an amendment from Representative King to require charter schools, alongside school districts, to include a complete statement of amounts and percentage increases in their financial reporting. King said the change ensures transparency for charter-school allocations; Representative Snow and staff responded that charter schools already report financial information to the State Office of Education, and the amendment passed after a division vote (49‑20).
Representative Farren successfully moved to change a November 30 deadline to September 30 for approval of charters that would be eligible for the next year’s funding. Farren argued the earlier deadline gives charter operators and local municipalities more time to secure land, permits and financing to open facilities on schedule; sponsors and members supporting the amendment said it should reduce forecasting errors in student counts. The amendment was adopted on the floor and incorporated into the bill.
Members raised questions about whether the 3.5% WPU increase would cover both compensation and benefit cost variations across districts; the sponsor and several members noted the bill increases the WPU but does not break the percentage out by compensation and benefits within the bill text. Representatives asked staff for further reports to improve fiscal precision and data on salaries and benefits in districts and charter schools.
Representative Morgan, speaking for the minority, said the package addressed some but not all of the minority’s priorities and welcomed application of the WPU to certain block grants and at‑risk programs. Representative Snow thanked committee chairs and members for their work before the final vote.
The House recorded the final passage as 71 yes, 0 no. The bill, as amended, will be referred to the Senate for consideration.
The next procedural step is Senate consideration; sponsors indicated supplemental appropriations could follow in a later bill.
