School funds debated

PROVO — The Provo School District Board of Education seeks ballot-box approval that would allow them to raise taxes for school-related projects.

One measure asks permission to issue $35 million in bonds for two new schools and remodeling and upgrades at existing schools.

The second measure asks for permission to increase the voted leeway to generate an extra $1.5 million.

If the bond and leeway are both approved by a majority of voters on June 27, property taxes on a $100,000 house would increase $65 over a three-year period.

Voices in favor

About 13,000 children attend school in Provo, a city with a population of about 115,000. So if the majority of the city's residents do not have children, why should they care about the local school system?

"Because they're citizens of this community and they live here," Provo School District Superintendent Randy Merrill said.

Additionally, Merrill said, "Good schools sustain a city."

Schools help keep high the property values of nearby houses. Good schools attract good families, the superintendent said.

"So schools become anchors for neighborhoods and communities," Merrill said.

Merrill points to surveys taken in 2004 that showed a majority of Provo residents wanted "neighborhood schools" within walking distances of most homes. People who took the surveys had attended open houses the district hosted to gather information for its 10-year planning blueprint.

William Sederburg, president of Utah Valley State College in Orem, supports Provo's bond issuance and leeway increase proposal because he believes it will help the overall economic health of the area.

"Provo needs highly educated people to drive the economy," said Sederburg, whose wife is a employee of the Provo district. "It's not important just for the city, but for the whole city and the region."

Voices that question

Merrill and other administrators from the district pleaded their case in May to the Utah Taxpayers Association.

The association has taken a neutral position on Provo district's bond election, said Mike Jerman, association vice president.