What are Utah trust lands?
Trust lands are parcels of land which are held in trust to support 12 state institutions, foremost of which are public schools. About 6% of Utah’s acreage is set aside as trust lands. When Utah became a state, Congress granted parcels of land to Utah and created endowments to support these institutions.
How do trust lands generate revenue?
Income is generated from Utah’s trust lands through oil, gas, and mineral leases, rent, and royalties, real estate development and sales, and surface estate sales, leases, and easements. This money is distributed each year to various Utah institutions, including charter schools.
How much money does Mountain West Montessori get each year from land trust income?
Each year varies, but MWMA will receive approximately $40,000 from land trust income this year. The amount that each school receives is public information, and can be found on the trust lands website, www.schoollandtrust.org under “Schools”.
Who decides how this money is spent at the school?
Mountain West Montessori has a Land Trust Committee, which is made up of parents and other stakeholders, and the committee meets each year to decide how the money should be spent. The committee this year will decide how next year’s money will be spent. If you are interested in serving on this committee, please contact Ms. Angie at ajohnson@mwmacademy.org.
We invite you to let your voice be heard and share your input about educating our students by volunteering to serve on our Land Trust Committee!
