School board hears about tax increment financing

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

In the first school board meeting of the year, newly re-elected school board members Marie Johnson and Royd Hatt were sworn in by business administrator Jared Black. Hatt has been on the Emery County School board since 1989. Johnson has been a board member since 1990
The board reappointed Jared Black as the business administrator for the Emery School District. This action must be taken each year. Board president, Laurel Johansen said they have complete confidence in Jared and his department has won several awards and recognition for their fiscal soundness.
Craig Smith attended the meeting with Green River mayor Pat Brady. Smith is a lawyer who explained tax increment financing. With the Green River refinery going to break ground this year there will be increased tax revenue for the school district in the near future.
Smith explained some entities are using tax increment financing to fund projects they wouldn’t be able to otherwise afford. This is an opportunity for economic development in an area. The project for which this type of financing is being considered is the water line project to the Green River industrial park. This is where the refinery is going to locate with a railroad spur and a refinery. If the waterline is put in then other companies may be attracted to the industrial park.
Smith said people often ask why public money should be spent for private business. Utah has to compete with other states to bring companies into the state. Tax incentives help make the state more attractive to new business.
Having infrastructure in place makes it easier for businesses to come into an area. By creating an agency, you can do things that a city and county cannot do. You can attract development and make land more valuable.
Smith said they used this type of financing when building the Walmart distribution center in Hurricane and now more businesses have built around it. They have met with the refinery management and they are very favorable for this concept to move forward. This would be the first project using this tax increment financing in Emery County.
The school board would need to agree to pledging future taxes to this project. A certain percentage to be determined would go toward financing of this project. This percentage of the increase in taxes collected would go to this project for a certain length of time. Smith will prepare an agreement for the school board to sign if they are agreeable to the project. It would be an interlocal agreement. He hopes to have something ready for the February board meeting for the board to consider.
Board president Johansen asked how many jobs the refinery will provide. Mayor Brady said 150 permanent jobs after the construction phase and these will be higher wage jobs. There is also the possibility of state incentives for the project too, if the locals buy in first. Mayor Brady said many companies are asking if they can use the rail spur when its installed.
Smith said a typical agreement is for 10 years. With new growth in Green River there could be more students coming into the schools there resulting in more funds coming into the schools through the weighted pupil unit. Superintendent Kirk Sitterud said there is room for growth in the schools in Green River.
Dayna Terry presented the comprehensive guidance program to the board. She said they have started a girls group during lunch. They are working on career and technology education programs. They will be providing three scholarships which students can apply for after they have completed their federal aid applications. They are working to expand computer classes. In a survey of students, 51 said they would like an application design class and 45 would like job certifications. State grants are available for some of these classes.
Terry said they are working on goal setting, they are working to bring up the ACT scores of special education students and to also give them more opportunities. Other successes included a math class where everyone passed. She said the students are pushing themselves and taking more concurrent enrollment classes. There are 12 students enrolled in the construction class, CAD-23 students, physics-41; 19 students graduated early.
Currently they are conducting Student education plans. Emery High has a graduation rate of 93 percent which is very good. Terry reported they also have a new counselor at the school, Ashley Jensen.
Nanette Harrison reported about the online preschool program sponsored by Waterford. They are a non-profit company that has designed educational software for 37 years. Emery County is part of a study of rural school districts for preschool students. Currently there are 11 students from Cleveland; 13-Huntington; 16-Castle Dale; 11-Cottonwood; 17-Ferron; 7-Book Cliff; participating in the program. Students participate in math or reading. It’s five days a week for 15 minutes a day, if the students didn’t have a computer in the home, Waterford provided one. Students currently enrolled now will graduate in August and then attend kindergarten. After their kindergarten year they will be picked up again that summer. Students are being enrolled now for the next session.
In addition to their online work the children have had a Halloween party together and are planning a Valentine party. Harrison said socialization for the children is part of the program.
The students in the preschool will be tracked for a few years and compare their test scores to those students who haven’t been involved in the program.
The board approved Stacy Mason as an occupational therapy assistant for special education and Staci Moss as a bus driver with a regular route. The board approved an overnight trip for the honor choir to visit Salt Lake. They will be accompanied by Heidi Hill the choir director and Jennifer Fauver.
The board approved the leasing of their water shares.
Jon Crawford explained to the board how Title One works. He has been with the program since it was first introduced to the schools. He observed other schools and how they administer their programs.
He hired a teacher/coordinator to supervise the aides and to train those involved in the program. Our schools have been recognized several times for being highly effective Title One schools. Title One funds are received in part by the percentage of students in the school eligible for free and reduced lunch. “I greatly appreciate the Title One coordinators,” said Crawford.
In the principals report, Brian Dawes reported the students have been practicing for their geography bee. Questions have been posted all around the school to help the students study for the bee.
The national organization for Title One schools selects two schools from each state to recognize as a distinguished Title One school and Ferron Elementary received that recognition this year. Eight people from Ferron Elementary will be attending the National Title One school convention which will be held in Salt Lake this year.
Dawes attributes this honor to the hard working teachers and aides at Ferron Elementary.
The coordinator identifies the needs of each individual student and extra help is given in these areas.
Dawes said all his teachers have a great commitment to the kids and a great love for them. He said one training DVD they watched spoke about a wheelbarrow.
Do you have room in your wheelbarrow for children who need extra attention? Who can we put in our wheelbarrow to lift and carry?
Board President Laurel Johansen thanked Principal Dawes and his staff for going the extra mile for kids and helping them succeed in life.
Superintendent Sitterud said Gov. Gary Herbert is recommending a 6.5 percent increase in the WPU. He is also calling for more funding to implement the technology initiative.
Feb. 20 is school board day at the legislature. Superintendent Sitterud said he attends the legislature each Friday while its in session to meet with our local legislators and to keep up on the bills regarding education. Superintendent Sitterud said, “Our local legislators are very supportive of education.”