In 1994, the Alpine School District received a $98 million bond and leeway tax. In 1998, the district now wants another $69 million bond and leeway tax. This will cost the taxpayer another $30.50 during the first year and $63.50 by the third year, plus any increase in property values on a $100,000 home.
Superintendent Steven Baugh says the state adds 40 cents to the district for every 60 cents given by taxpayers through leeway initiatives. (Guess who pays the 40 cents to the state in higher taxes.)Superintendent Baugh says the Alpine School District is number 40 out of 40 districts in state funding. He also says that teachers' salaries in the Alpine School District are in the top 25 percent. Twenty-five percent of 40 equals top 10. Are Alpine school teachers paid number 10, number five, or number one in the state?
For the last two years, the Alpine School District has been the first district in the state to sign contracts with its teachers. Teachers ratified the contracts by an overwhelming majority. Why were they doing next year's contracts during this year's school time (about May 1)? Teachers next year will receive another 6.18 percent raise. Most city workers will get a 2 percent to 3 percent raise next year. Geneva Steel workers got a 8.5 percent raise over three years, 2.8 percent per year. A 6.18 percent raise every year for 11 years doubles a person's income.
Three things that need to be done now are:
1. Vote "no" on the bond and leeway tax.
2. Pass a law so taxpayers can vote for the superintendent of the school districts every two years. (This will do away with the tax-and-spend superintendent after only two years.)
3. Vote for some middle-class people who know the value of money on the Alpine Board of Education.
Gerald Erickson
Lehi