The Wasatch County school board will hold its first meeting of the year Thursday, andon the agenda is the annual financial audit. Business Administrator Keith Johansen will go over the numbers from the school district’s 2022 fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2022.
Total revenue for the year was $130 million, up from $116 million the year before. Sixty percent of school funds, about $77 million, came from local property taxes, up from $72 million in fiscal year ’21. And money from the state made up a third of the budget, about $42 million, up from $38 million in 2021.
The school district spends most of its money on salaries and benefits, which are 87% of the budget. The annual audit states the Board of Education has made a concerted effort to retain and attract the best teachers possible by negotiating higher wage and benefit packages.
Student enrollment for the year was almost 9,000. The audit notes Wasatch County has repeatedly been named one of the fastest-growing counties in the country, and enrollment is expected to increase steadily for the foreseeable future.
All of Wasatch County School District’s board members will return this year. Both Tyler Bluth and Cory Holmes won re-election last fall, soundly defeating write-in opponents. The board will elect a new president and vice president. Currently Tom Hansen is president and Bluth is vice president.
The board will meet for a study session at 5 p.m. The board meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Public comments will be accepted for 20 minutes, and each speaker will be allowed a maximum of two minutes. The board meets at the Wasatch Education Center, 101 East, 200 North, in Heber City.
The district will broadcast the meeting live on its YouTube channel.
