School districts raise taxes

Residents either ranted, raved or remained silent in four Salt Lake County school districts Tuesday night, but all will be doing the same thing soon: writing bigger checks to the tax man.

School boards in Jordan, Murray, Granite and Salt Lake City school districts hiked property taxes, mainly to get matching funds for Gov. Olene Walker's statewide reading initiative. Murray also raised taxes to give teachers a raise; Jordan raised a series of taxes to pay for rising costs.

The tax hikes already are in tentative budgets passed back in June, according to Utah law. Tuesday night's vote came largely as a formality, following a state-mandated truth-in-taxation hearing.

Public interest in chiming in on tax increases went from not a peep in Salt Lake City to a nearly 2 1/2-hour exchange between the Jordan Board of Education and an audience of about 100 people.

• Jordan District raised taxes for the reading initiative, opening new schools, and paying for a .5 percent raise for the most experienced teachers and other costs. But two other taxes for debt — thanks to refinancing — and the basic program tax are going down.

The net tax hike translates into $27 more in property tax on a $100,000 house. That's $1 over 2000-01 levels, when Jordan last raised taxes.

About 100 people came to hear the district's tax pleas but opposed them by a more than 2-to-1 margin. They pointed out that Jordan's tax rate is among Utah's highest and observed that people on fixed incomes can't afford it. They asked the district totrim the fat and make do.

"I understand we have an underfunded school system in this state ... (but) we're hurting out here," resident Mark Madsen said. "Maybe we need to find (another) source of funding."

But a handful of teachers backed the investment. The board repeatedly said it has the lowest administrative costs in the country and is ranked among the nation's most efficient.

"We are not happy about raising the tax rate," board president Peggy Jo Kennett said. "We are trying to do the best we can with the funds available to keep public education strong and vibrant in our district" and not raise class size.

• The Salt Lake City Board of Education unanimously approved raising property taxes to garner more than $2.7 million, primarily as matching funds for the reading initiative.

The increase translates into $21.41 per year or $1.78 a month on the average valued $189,916 home.

"I know that this weighs heavily upon the hearts and the wallets of those people on a fixed income but ... we are doing this to fill a gap that needs filled at this point," said board member Jan Clemmer. "This is in the best interest of our community and an investment in our children and in our future."