From Deseret News archives:
Provo District budget includes teacher raises
$108.2 million OK'd despite board member's objection
School board member Sandy Packard voted against the budget to protest that district staff didn't provide 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.
Entering such data into the budget would change budgets for previous years that have already been audited, business administrator Kerry Smith said.
"And they weren't reported as part of the district funds in prior years," he said. "Starting next year is the first year they're requiring the (individual) school accounting be rolled in with district accounting."
But Packard said she would like to have seen the money in school accounts, especially in the accounts of the middle and high schools, and had been told by an official at the Utah State Office of Education that was possible.
Superintendent Randy Merrill said he does not intend to withhold any information from the budget. He instructed staff to provide Packard the data electronically.
"For the record, financial clarity is what we've hung our hat on for the past three years," Merrill said.
School board member Carolyn Wright voted for the budget but demanded that next year the staff provide information about the number of full-time teaching positions. Wright believed the number will help the school board make priorities as it budgets each year. The district has about 13,000 students.
Highlights of the budget include 12 percent salary and benefits increases for teachers and an extra $600,000 from property taxes.
The district will collect the $600,000 due to increased property valuations. The property tax rate will not increase and actually will likely decrease in August when the district holds a Truth in Taxation hearing, Smith said.
The ending budget for the past year — also approved by the school board Thursday morning — was $96.3 million.
Most of the 12 percent increase from last year's budget to this year results from increased funding from the Legislature and revenue from bond issuances to build two new elementary schools.
E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com
