Washington County growth puts pressure on school, water districts

ST. GEORGE — Thanks in large part to rising property values and new growth in Washington County, school administrators here say the district will collect millions in new tax dollars this year.

The new tax dollars already are earmarked to build more schools to house the thousands of new students expected over the next few years.

"Last year we had a 6.3 percent increase in the number of students over the previous year," said Brent Bills, business administrator for the Washington County School District, which serves nearly 22,000 students. "This year we're expecting more than 2,000 new students. That's a 9 percent increase across the board in every grade."

Students and teachers from two elementary schools are sharing one school building while the district rushes to finish Little Valley Elementary School on the east side of St. George. The two school communities split the day, with half using the building in the morning and the other half taking over for the afternoon.

Max Rose, district superintendent, said an "unexpected growth spurt" put the district in the undesirable position of using double sessions during the fall semester.

"In the next two years, the district will see several new schools being added; as many as five," Rose said in his annual report to the community. "The commitment of the district is to not get caught in the trap of being too slow to respond."

Funding those schools and finding the teachers to staff them is an ongoing challenge, said Bills.

This year, because of the county's growth and higher property values, the district expects to collect about $4.6 million more in revenue for a total of just over $41.3 million. That's a 12.54 percent increase in revenue for the school district, he added.

"If the county hadn't reassessed property values and there hadn't been this new growth, people would be paying $17 more in taxes this year just because of the bonding debt," said Bills. Instead, the taxes on a $100,000 residence will go up by $13.20, he said.

But the average cost of a single-family home with 2,400 square feet in much of Washington County is nearly $260,000, and that high cost of living poses another problem for the school district.

"We're having a hard time getting teachers to accept positions here," said Bills.

Reasons people give for turning down a job offer with the school district don't tend to be low pay or the amount of money spent on students, he added.

"We've actually had teachers accept positions and then call back in a few days and tell us they can't afford to live here," said Bills. "The cost of housing has gone up so much it's really starting to become problematic for us."