Provo School District board approves tentative budget

PROVO — The Provo School District Board of Education Thursday morning approved a tentative $108.2 million budget for next school year.

One member of the school board, Sandy Packard, voted against the budget in protest of district staff not providing specifics about each school's money collected from fees, vending machines and donations.

Packard's vote followed a discussion about whether, from an accounting standpoint, such specifics were possible.

School board member Carolyn Wright voted in favor of the proposed budget, but demanded that next year the staff provide information about the number of full-time teaching positions.

Wright believes the number will help the school board make priorities as it budgets each year. The district counts about 13,000 students.

Highlights of the tentative budget include 12 percent salary and benefits increases for teachers and an extra $600,000 from property taxes for inflation.

The district will collect the $600,000 from increased property valuations. The property tax rate will not increase, district business administrator Kerry Smith said.

The budget for FY 2007 was $96.3 million.

Most of the 12 percent increase from last year's budget to this year's tentative budget results from increased funding from the Legislature and revenue from bond issuances to build two new elementary schools.

After approving the budget, the school board had a closed meeting to discuss the hiring of a new staffer in the human resources department. The tentative FY 2008 budget provides money for the position.

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