‘We want to be very clear’: Washington County School District goes public about budget proposal

ST. GEORGE — The Washington County School District has gone public by distributing information on the district’s balanced budget plan to become fully self-sufficient and debt-free within 12 years.

The school district’s superintendents Larry Bergeson and Richard Holmes participate in a public meeting, St. George, Utah, April 25, 2023 | Photo by Nick Yamashita, St. George News

One of the public informational meetings was held at Crimson Cliffs High School on Tuesday, April 25.

One dozen parents, school personnel, district board members and administration attended, including current superintendent Larry Bergeson and incoming superintendent Richard Holmes.

District Director of Communication and Foundation Steve Dunham led the meeting to discuss a new tax initiative that will be utilized by the school district to accomplish this feat. He first showed a short video that explains the plan.

“We want to be very clear about what we are doing,” Dunham said.

The plan will occur during the Truth in Taxation this year. The school board will be voting on combining the Debt Service Levy tax rate and Capital Levy tax rate into one at a slightly lower rate. The lower tax rate will be seen immediately by taxpayers, Dunham added.

The Truth in Taxation process is established by the state legislature where city and county governments and school districts are required to hold a public hearing and inform taxpayers of increases prior to voting on them before approving the changes.

“It will show up looking as a tax increase even though it is not a tax increase,” Dunham said.

Dunham said, in July, when the property notices are sent out, they will state a tax increase but the numbers might be misleading.

“The state law requires it to show as a tax increase but they don’t show us zeroing out the debt service account,” he said. “That is where the compensation and confusion will lie.”

According to a chart that shows the changes, the taxpayer currently pays two taxes.

The Capital Levy tax rate is 0.000159 which on average pays about $48 per home. The Debt Service Levy tax rate is 0.001856 resulting in a $561 payment on average. This is a total of $609 tax payment.

By combining the accounts, the Capital Levy will see an increase to a tax rate of 0.001999 with a payment of $604 while the Debt Service Levy will be zero in interest and zero in payment.

On average, the property owner will pay $5 less in taxes with the proposal.

A chart that shows how the new budget proposal for the school district to become debt-free will affect taxpayers, St. George, Utah | Chart courtesy of Washington County School District, St. George News

These statistics are based on the average value of a Washington County home.

According to Dunham, the school district has been working hard for the last six years to make this “debt-free” goal come true. The plan has involved the school district spending frugally without going into debt more.

“The way that debt is financed in a school district is through bonds,” Dunham said. “Taxpayers are taxed based upon the amount of debt there is.”

Bergeson reported the district last did bonds in 2013 and 2018. He without combining the accounts, the district would have to ask for another bond — which would definitely raise taxes.

Dunham added that combining the accounts will save taxpayers more than $10 million dollars each year in interest payments. The district will receive nearly the same amount of money as before from the account, which they will use to pay off debts.

The district will also be able to pay cash for all new construction projects. With this initiative, the district will avoid more than $700 million dollars of debt through more bonds, officials stated.

Parents expressed concern with the outward appearance that the proposed budget plan can be approved by the board without being voted on by the public.

However, all in attendance said they were in full support of the budget plan as it “makes more sense” and benefits the public in the short term and long term as well.

The Washington County School District will become the 7th state school district to become self-sufficient if the initiative is proves to be a success. It will be the biggest school district of the seven to be debt-free.

Bergeson said the larger school districts in the northern part of Utah are watching and have expressed interest in enacting the same plan. All the high schools within the district have already or will host meetings on the initiative through May.

For more information visit the Washington County School District site.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

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