SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah State Board of Education is looking ahead when it comes to funding, and on Friday they voted to transfer control of the state school trust from the treasurer’s office to an independent board of investment experts.
The trust has grown to more than $1 billion, and members of the task force said the trust is focused on the long run, so it can help generations still to come.
Jennifer Johnson is the chair of the School Trust Investment Task Force and a member of the Utah State Board of Education, and she said the change will benefit Utahns.
“When you look at that implication of this fund being forever, or just generations to come, a decision like this may be making the difference of billions of dollars, trillions of dollars,” she said.
Tim Donaldson, School Children’s Trust director at the Utah State Office of Education, said they will do all they can to make the trust flourish.
“We want to make sure that we have checks and balances in place, so that whatever comes, we’re able to weather those challenges and lead this whole trust to a bigger, brighter future,” he said.
The trust fund’s interest and dividends are given to Utah schools. During this school year, the fund has given about $37 million to public schools.
