The Utah School and Institutional Trust Funds Office, or SITFO, announced $134 million will be distributed to public schools for the 2026-27 school year, including $15.8 million to the Alpine School District, $7.9 million to the Nebo School District and $2.7 million to the Provo City School District.

The trust lands fund will allocate 20% more than last year’s $111 million distribution, according to a SITFO news release, due to Amendment B, a voter-approved measure that raised the annual distribution cap from 4% to 5%.

The fund also received “strong financial performance from trust land management and the Permanent School Fund investment portfolio,” the release said. Without the 1% increase, distributed funds would have totaled an estimated $118 million.

As a result, Alpine School District will receive $2.8 million more than last year, while Nebo School District will get an additional $1.2 million more and Provo City School District will receive $406,700 more, the release said.

The school districts have one of the United States’ founding fathers to thank for the annual funding, which will support academic intervention and innovation, among other purposes.

Thomas Jefferson proposed that land in new states be reserved for schools, and when Utah attained statehood in 1896, the U.S. Congress allocated 6 million acres of land to benefit education in perpetuity, according to the School and Institutional Trust Funds Office.

Revenue generated from leases, sales and development of trust lands is placed into a permanent fund and invested.

“Utah students benefit from a trust system that delivers strong results and protects both current and future beneficiaries,” said SITFO Board Chair and Treasurer Marlo Oaks. “Careful land management and prudent investment decisions strengthen schools today and preserve the fund for generations to come.”