The School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration commonly known as SITLA is the result of program set up by congress when Utah first became a state.    The U.S. Congress, in exchange for not taxing federal land gave certain lands to Utah. The lands are held in a legal trust for our schools. Schools own approximately 3.3 million acres. The lands are managed by the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) and must, by law, be used to generate money for our schools.

As the years passed since Utah gained statehood the patchwork of lands given to the state became surrounded by various state, federal and private property owners.   In many cases the SITLA lands were literally landlocked.  The lands were inaccessible to be leased for oil or mineral extraction, or even available to be sold.   To see the SITLA lands on a map would look like a checkerboard.  

I was an original Co-Sponsor with Utah Representative Jim Hansen, and have sponsored additional legislation since Jim retired to consolidate these SITLA lands so that the State of Utah can have more flexibility in arranging leases, sales and exchanges to maximize the value of these lands and increase the dollars available to our schools.  

This is not 'sexy' legislation.  It doesn't get a lot of attention and most parents and students don't know about this program.   But in a state where education dollars are so scarce this funding source is vital to improving our education system.

The State of Utah has a great website where you can see exactly how much of the SITLA funds are being channeled to your neighborhood schools.   You can also see what they plan to do with those funds.  Take a moment and visit www.schooltrustland.org .