Provo schools budget OK'd

PROVO — The Provo School District Board of Education on Tuesday night adopted a $102 million budget for next year, including nearly $10 million from a bond issuance and leeway increase that district chiefs hope the public will approve in a June 27 bond election.

Sixty-nine percent of the budget is earmarked for employee salaries and benefits, although the district is still negotiating next year's contracts with the employees' unions.

Business manager Kerry Smith said the district made available for employees a 6.5 percent increase in compensation, which can result in raises in pay or benefits.

Sue Tandy, president of the Provo Classified Professionals Association, said she trusts the school district to be flexible as negotiations continue.

"If changes need to be made, they'll be made," she said.

Negotiations had been delayed because, "We had committee work done to study issues such as benefits, post-retirement, salaries and policy," Tandy said.

The committees are new this year, as a result of last year's negotiations, because employees wanted to form study groups to gain more information about their compensation prior to entering negotiations.

On June 27, voters will be asked to approve a $35 million bond issuance and $1.5 leeway increase. Next year's budget assumes the bond will pass and about $9.3 million of the bond money will pay for construction projects at Sunset View Elementary, Provost Elementary and Centennial Middle, as well as energy and seismic projects throughout the district.

Next year's budget also assumes the leeway will pass and $600,000 will be used to hire faculty and reduce class sizes.

If the bond does not pass, "then we're going to have to have some study sessions with the board and have some serious readjustments," Smith said.

The Utah Legislature increased the per-pupil dollar amount by 6 percent this year.

"All the new money was going to the employees this year" in salaries and benefits, Provo Superintendent Randy Merrill said.

New in next year's budget is about $150,000 for two new assistant principals — one for each of the district's high schools. Each high school will have three assistant principals. The money for the assistant principals was taken from the career and technical education budget, which is left with about $4 million next year, Smith said.

Smith said next year's budget is forward-looking, as opposed to previous years' budgets in which the district dispersed decreased pay raises and benefits to reverse its financial problems of deficit spending and using building maintenance money for ongoing operational needs.

"The last several years have been financially tumultuous for the district," he said.

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E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com