Three school districts raises taxes for teacher pay raises

Three more Utah school districts have approved pay raises for teachers by raising property tax increases.

It’s the third year in a row that some school districts are giving out raises. Canyons, Davis and Jordan school boards all approved their property tax hikes Tuesday night.

But they heard an earful from people talking about every different issue related to this.

“I’m against raising these taxes because it’s hard on single women,” one woman told the Davis School Board, as reported on by KSL TV.

“We are losing good teachers to other districts because of the situation,” said another woman. “It’s so minimal. I don’t care if it’s a 10, I don’t care if it’s a 15% on that line item for our family. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to educate my kids.”

At the Canyons Board of Education meeting, the Deseret News says a teacher said she is a single parent and has had to work two jobs.

“This pay raise means I can spend more time with my kids,” said Stephanie Lauritzen.

But Bob Nielson said the tax increase is excessive, particularly for people on fixed incomes.

“This is a huge increase. I believe it’s over the top,” he said.

At the Jordan Board of Education meeting, one of the concerns raised came from senior citizens who are on a fixed income. “Are you going to pay my tax increase?” one woman asked the board. “I hope you do.”

But KSL TV says the president of the Jordan Education Association spoke about teacher retention.

“If you can do the same job and just travel a little bit of a different distance, wouldn’t you go somewhere where you can earn more money?” said Vicki Olsen.

What the tax hikes look like

If you have a $338,000 dollar home in Davis County, this is about $59 more dollars a year.

In Jordan, a $400,000 home will see taxes go up $72 a year.

In Canyons, the average homeowner there will pay $144 more a year.

Those increases mean new teachers in the Davis School District will start just shy of $44, 000 a year,  in the Jordan District new teachers will start around $48,000/year,  and in Canyons starting pay will go up to about $50,000 which will make the Canyons District almost the highest paying in the state.

The Murray School Board will hold their hearing Thursday night.

Park City will hold theirs on August 20.

 

Follow @kslmrichards