SALT LAKE CITY – Utah lawmakers are considering legislation to increase taxes to drum up millions in new education funding for public schools, though some are concerned most of the money won’t make it to the classroom.

Two different bills were recently introduced in the Utah Senate this month and passed out of committee with majority votes. SB118 would limit personal or dependent tax deductions to two per family, a move that would generate about $250 million per year, the Desert News reports.

SB111 would freeze the basic property tax rate for schools to produce up to $100 million, according to the news site.

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Democrat state Sen. Pat Jones, sponsor of SB118, said the legislation would “cost the average family of three an additional $143 in income taxes per year, or roughly $12 per month. That tax revenue would be allocated on both a per-school and per-pupil basis, generating roughly $300,000 for each elementary school, $400,000 for each junior high and middle school, and $700,000 for each high school.”

The news site quotes several parents who contend they’re more than willing to chip in a little extra if it means a better education for their children.

But Royce Van Tassel, vice president of the Utah Taxpayers Association, points out the plain fact that simply increasing education funding won’t necessarily improve learning. He understands that it’s not how much money is spent on education, it’s how the money is spent.

“How can we spend the education dollars we have in a way that drives higher education achievement?” he asked the Desert News.

He certainly has a valid point.

Utah lawmakers approved a 2 percent increase in “weighted pupil unit” education spending in 2013, but most of the $50 million it generated never made it to the classroom. Instead, it was spent on other “obligations,” like school employee pensions.

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“This year, Gov. Gary Herbert has called for a 2.5 percent increase in per-pupil spending, but (Utah Education Association President Sharon) Gallagher-Fishbaugh says that figure would … provide little funding for investment in schools,” the Desert News reports.

“Anything less than a 2.7 percent increase on the WPU this year will result in nothing for us – nothing – because there are obligations the district have,” Gallagher-Fishbaugh told the news site.

In other words, the governor’s proposed 2.7 percent increase in education funding will be gobbled up by “obligations.” Schools need more money on top of the governor’s increase to make ends meet, the UEA argues.

Perhaps lawmakers should consider ways of reducing districts’ “obligations,” instead of simply feeding the problem. That’s the only way of ensuring future education spending has a more tangible impact on student achievement.