Family Center Handbook - Granite School District

ALL INFORMATION LISTED BELOW IS TAKEN FROM THE GRANITE DISTRICT WEB SITE
&
COMMUNITY COUNCIL HANDBOOK
What is the School LAND Trust Program?
"Learning And Nurturing Development” with Trust Land Dividends
The U.S. Congress, in exchange for not taxing federal land, gave lands to Utah schools at
statehood. The lands are held in a legal trust for our schools. Schools own 3.3 million acres.
The lands are managed by the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration and
must, by law, be used to generate money for our schools. The money is put in a permanent
savings account, which is never spent, but invested. The interest earned from the
permanent fund now goes to each school in the state. Your school will get its share of the
Trust Lands money because of a bill sponsored by Representative Mel Brown and Senator
David Steele, which passed the 1999 Legislature and was signed by Governor Leavitt. Your
education leaders in PTA, UEA, School Boards, the State Board of Education, as well as
superintendents and principals, have worked diligently for decades to give this opportunity
to you - use it wisely.
Other key facts:
1. School trust lands:
• are scattered all over Utah in a checkerboard pattern
• comprise 7% of land ownership in Utah (21% is privately owned 71% is federally owned and
Native American reservations)
• generate revenue by renting surface lands and minerals and by selling the land are leased for:
o production of oil, gas, coal, and other minerals
o farming
o retail stores
o commercial buildings
o telecommunication sites
o ski resorts
o grazing for cattle and sheep
o hunting and fishing
2. The permanent State School Fund:
• is a large savings account for schools
• grows because all revenue from trust lands, after expenses, is deposited in it
• grows from wise investments
• is invested and never spent
• generates (from investments) earnings that support our schools