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Park City School District Averts Tax Hike as Board Approves 2021 Budget

Image of the entrance into Park City High School
Park City High School

The Park City School District will not need to raise taxes after all after the school board unanimously adopted next school year’s $94 million budgetTuesday night with little fanfare and no public resistance.

 

Park City School District Business Administrator Todd Hauber had anticipated a tax increase for the next three years to cover the salary increases for the four-year employee contracts that were approved last year. 

 

Property values in the school district have increased by double digits. Hauber says typical growth in property values has been between seven and nine percent. This year, values increased about 12%. 

 

"As the assessments were coming in, and as the state auditor set the certified tax rate, the amount of growth that came through that process exceeded what we had forecast, and really it's just that the growth in our area has generated additional tax revenue so no need for a tax increase,” he said.

 

New development within the district hasn't impacted school enrollment figures yet. The past five years have seen flat enrollment, even with a slight downward trend. 

 

“New growth is assessed valuations that didn't exist the year before, so that's new revenue that comes in, and that's the piece that grew and is benefiting the school district right now,” Hauber said.

 

Because the Park City School District generates more in property tax than many other school districts in the state, the local district will have to send about $12 million to the state through the equalization program.

 

The board authorized the business administrator to change budgets as needed once a certified tax rate is made public.

KPCW reporter Carolyn Murray covers Summit and Wasatch County School Districts. She also reports on wildlife and environmental stories, along with breaking news. Carolyn has been in town since the mid ‘80s and raised two daughters in Park City.
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