Davis County residents will incur the first of three voted-leeway tax increases to help the district's Technology Advancement Plan take flight under Davis School District's $304.8 million budget proposal.
The Davis Board of Education is scheduled to hold a public hearing and take action on the proposed 1998-99 budget Tuesday. About half of the budget would fund salaries."With this budget we will be able to do quite a few things in technology," said Bruce Williams, district business administrator.
The district's Technology Advancement Plan will boost staff and training to meet district technology demands and to help schools continue or start projects. The district hopes technology will help students improve their performance and prepare for a technology-based work force.
The unprecedented plan calls for $1 million to fund 26 school technology specialists, $3 million for equipment upgrades, $35,000 to implement a central help desk for technical support and $750,000 in one-time funds to pilot integrated learning systems. Phase-in is to begin next month.
Next year's proposed budget allots $3 million in capital and bond money for computer placements and upgrades and money for school technology specialists, to be paid for with the voted-leeway funds, Williams said.
Next year, the owner of a $100,000 house is expected to pay an estimated $11 in additional property tax, Williams said. The precise amount, however, cannot be known until the county releases the certified tax rate.
Voters in May 1997 authorized extending the leeway tax at the same time they approved a $75 million bond for school construction and capital improvements.
The additional voted leeway is expected to bring in $2 million more than last year's leeway, the budget shows. Last year's leeway funds totaled $6.2 million. The additional leeway will be implemented over three years.
Teachers would receive a 6.5 percent increase in their compensation package under the budget, Williams said. Of that, 3.5 percent is for cost-of-living increases, which applies to all employees, and just more than 1 per-cent is for insurance.
The budget also would give $500,000 for class-size reduction above the $1.1 million coming from the state, Williams said. Elementary schoolteachers also would receive additional preparation time under a $500,000 allotment.
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Additional Information
School budget Davis District
Total budget: $304.8 million
1998-99
Total budget: $318.6 million
1997-98
Where it comes from:
State funds: $183.8 million
Local taxes and fees: $ 81.7 million
Federal funds $ 16.6 million
Where it goes:
Instruction: $158.3 million
Support services $ 66.5 million
Capital projects $ 29 million
Debt service: $ 23.6 million
Food services $ 13.6 million
Internal district services $ 6.7 million
Community services $ 155,000
Trust fund expend. $ 923,000
District valuation* NA
Total tax rate:** NA
* District valuation 1997-98: $6.1 billion
**Total tax rate 1997-98: .007604