Iron County School Board Seeks Public Input At Meeting Tonight

The Iron County School Board is holding a public meeting tonight, Tuesday, August 20^th for public input for a proposed increase in the Board Local and Capitol levies for 2024.Todd Hess, CFO and Business Administrator for the Iron County School District was on the radio with us this morning to invite the public to the meeting this evening.

“The meeting is tonight at 6 at the district office to go over these rates and get input from the community,” Hess told us, continuing “there are four basic tax levies that the district assesses. A tax levy is just a tax that we assess for a specific purpose. Two of those levies we are proposing an increase in those rates, the other two are actually decreasing from last year.”

The increases are in both the Board Local and Capital levies. These increases, however, are largely balanced by a significant decrease in the Debt Service levy, allowing property tax assessments to remain relatively stable compared to the previous year. The ICSD Board of Education has stated that it is committed to delivering high-quality education and facilities without placing an excessive burden on local taxpayers or causing major tax fluctuations from year to year.

The proposed increase in the Board Local levy is aimed at ensuring the district continues to qualify for the maximum state guarantee money available as certified tax rates are projected to decline over the next five years. The last increase in this levy occurred in 2019, with the previous one in 2014.

Revenue from the Capital levy is critical for financing major facilities maintenance projects and equipment purchases outlined in the district’s 10-year Capital Facilities Plan. It will also be used to make payments on lease revenue bonds issued for an addition to Canyon View High School and a new transportation facility. The ICSD Board of Education is striving to maintain the Capital levy tax rate at .001 to address rising costs, and it will reassess the generated revenues and capital needs biannually. The last increase in the Capital levy was also in 2019.

The project at Canyon View High School was proposed in a recent bond election that was narrowly defeated by voters. Hess told us that project was one of the most popular projects that was in that bond issue.

Meanwhile, the Debt Service levy rate, which funds the repayment of outstanding general obligation bonds, is set for a significant decrease in 2024 due to bonds being paid off.

It should be noted that Iron County residents will also be asked to consider a General Obligation Bond for $66 million on the upcoming November ballot. A General Obligation Bond is used to pay for new school construction. The Iron County School District is proposing to use money from the bind, if passed by voters, to construct a tenth elementary school for the district, and to build a facility to house the district's alternative projects such as the Southwest Education Academy and Launch High School.

Concerning the tax levies being discussed at tonight's meeting, Hess told us, “the net increase if you look at the tax rates that the district is going assess this year is only about a .67% increase.”

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You can listen to our discussion with Todd Hess in our podcast below.