The North Summit Board of Education meets June 17 to vote on a FY2027 budget.
The tentative version district staff presented on Wednesday does not include a tax increase. The North Summit School District expects to bring in about $19.5 million next year, about $1 million more than in FY2026.
District leaders negotiated a 3.5% raise with employees, which business administrator Marci Sargent said will be covered by extra money from the state.
But some of that had to pay for a $150,000 jump in employee insurance premiums, too.
“Our insurance went up 8% this year. So that took a big chunk of money,” Sargent told school board members May 13.
She said the district’s draft budget won’t be finalized until staff see more exact property tax predictions in early June.
Within the budget, property taxes generally cover ongoing operating expenses while sales taxes go toward capital projects.
The latter include designs for a new North Summit High School.
District leaders have been hoping to sell more than $100 million in bonds to finance the project, which would affect property taxes going forward.
But residents have rejected bonds at the ballot box two years in a row. When district leaders went forward anyway in December, residents successfully gathered signatures to put the bonds back on this November’s ballot.
That means voters might reject the bonds for a third time.
The school board is worried about the structural safety of the 49-year-old high school. Opponents of the bonds weren’t sure an earthquake would knock down the building and called for more evidence.
So the district commissioned a seismic study in April. The consulting firm the board chose has grant funding, so the assessment won’t cost the district.
Once that is complete, the board plans to schedule a community Q&A about the high school plans.
