Some Utah County residents will have to pay more property taxes after the Alpine School District unanimously approved a proposed increase.

The certified rate for FY 2025 will be reduced from 0.005715 to 0.006115.

The increase equates to about $107 in additional property taxes per year, or about $9 per month for homeowners living within the ASD boundaries with a median property value of $489,000. Overall, this is a 7% increase.

The tax increase was approved during an Alpine School District Board meeting, which included a “Truth In Taxation” hearing on Tuesday evening.

Jason Sundberg, economic administrator for the Alpine School District, outlined the plan for distributing the tax increase in a presentation.

It includes operational investments in full-time staff to reduce class sizes, salary increases for teachers, a mentoring program for educators, special education resources, upgraded facilities and technology, coverage of excess building maintenance costs, and funds to build a new high school in Saratoga Springs.

Before school board members passed the motion, they heard the opinions of more than two dozen citizens at a public hearing.

The intense part of the meeting lasted over an hour. Residents made emotional and passionate comments – the majority were against paying higher property taxes.

Lindon resident Alicia Alba applauded the school board and thanked them for their work, but expressed disappointment with the tax increases. She believes the district’s financial problems are just one of the reasons why splitting the district into three is necessary.

“We have reached a point where what was once an economy of scale has now become a diseconomy of scale, where our board feels pressured to rob Peter to pay Paul, where we can no longer build successful connections, and where diverse and critical needs in our district are not being met,” Alba told the school board. “Unfortunately, I believe our oversized district is no longer the best-equipped system to continue to provide a quality education for our children.”

Sean Barry of Pleasant Grove strongly disagreed with the proposed increase. “This is not inflationary, this is because someone doesn’t know how to manage your damn money, that’s my opinion,” he told the school board.

He then asked the board members about their personal income. “I would like to ask the board, how many of you, the salaried employees, have received a raise? If so, tell us, did you get a raise this year?” Barry asked the school board members sternly.

“That is not appropriate for a public hearing like this,” replied Board Chair Sara Hacken.

However, not all commentators were against the tax increase.

Orem resident Michele Sorensen spoke in favor of the increase, citing the need for increased teacher funding to reduce class sizes and expressing disappointment that lawmakers are not allocating enough funding to public education.

“We must hold our legislature accountable for the cuts in public funding over the past few years,” Sorensen said.

This tax increase comes as voters face a possible split of the district due to several intermunicipal agreements in November.

Rich Stowell, communications director for ASD, said regardless of the election outcome, the increase will ultimately persist.

“Our board has decided to act now to ensure financial sustainability in the short and long term. That responsibility rests solely with the board, while the question of whether to create new school districts rests with the voters,” Stowell said in an emailed statement to the Daily Herald.

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