HB 170: New Taxes for K-12 School Police Officers

This bill did not receive a vote.

What happens when a school student breaks the law? Should the police be called to deal with a disciplinary issue or a legal infraction?

Many schools in Utah have dedicated police officers, often called “school resource officers,” who received specialized training in “school policing.” They typically work full time at the school and work closely with the school administration to police the campus.

This session, Representative Mike Winder is sponsoring House Bill 170 which would allow schools to hire more police officers by creating a new opportunity for local school boards to impose an additional property tax on all residents who live within the school district.

Should schools feel that they need additional law enforcement support, this should be provided and prioritized using existing revenue or in cooperation with city law enforcement. We do not support yet another tax to extract more money from the public, especially with the heavy tax of high inflation eroding people’s income and savings in the past two years.