Ask most farmers what we produce best here in Utah and they'll likely tell you it's alfalfa. The answer is actually, children. Utah is among the fastest growing states in the nation and that means we'll have more students to fit into the same number of schools unless we act now.
The Davis School District is particularly in need. Community support is needed now as the district asks to bond to provide facilities and equipment. Davis County voters, and I am one myself, should support the bond to best prepare our students to become the future workforce of our state.The ballot language for the bond is potentially confusing. While the passage of this proposition means that the tax on a $252,000 residence within the district will not, over time, decrease by $156.93 per year, the Davis Board of Education expects to issue the bonds in such a manner that no increase in the current tax rate for debt service will occur. If the bonds are approved and sold, the current tax rate will continue for more years than if the bonds are not approved.
Simply put: those who live in the district will not see their taxes go up.
The student population increases in the Davis District make more school buildings a need, not a want. The student population increases by nearly 1,000 students each year. Over the next five years, elementary school enrollment will soar by 16 percent, junior high enrollment by 13 percent, and high school enrollment by eight percent. Without new facilities, five junior high schools will eventually have more students than are currently enrolled in half the high schools in the district.
Building schools now while the cost of construction is lower will bring taxpayers the most value for their money. A bid for a new elementary school in west Kaysville came in this year for $2 million less than a school with identical plans in 2007. The need for the facilities won't go away as time passes and the building costs are certain to rise.
Additional portable classrooms are not the solution. Davis School District already has 330 portable classrooms and adding more of these temporary facilities will simply not meet the anticipated growth.
The bond will fund a new junior high in Kaysville, elementary schools in west Layton and West Point, rebuilding of an older elementary school where growth is expected, and the construction of a special education school for medically fragile students and 18- to 22-year-old students. Additions and renovations and major maintenance projects on many other schools throughout the district will also be funded.
Bonding now saves taxpayers money for buildings that will have to be built eventually, and it does it without raising taxes.
Educating our children is our responsibility and that includes providing sufficient facilities and resources. Today's students are the future workforce of our state. An investment in them is an investment in Utah.
Lane Beattie is president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber, former president of the Utah State Senate and chairman of Friends of the Davis District Bond Election. Mr. Beattie lives in Bountiful.
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