Utah Taxpayers Association supports Orem splitting from Alpine District

Laurie Lisonbee, center, and other supporters of Orem splitting from the Alpine School District stand on State Street and Center Street in Orem on Aug. 21, 2006. After "extensive research and analysis," the Utah Taxpayers Association said Monday it is urging Orem taxpayers to vote in favor of Orem Proposition 2.

Laurie Lisonbee, center, and other supporters of Orem splitting from the Alpine School District stand on State Street and Center Street in Orem on Aug. 21, 2006. After "extensive research and analysis," the Utah Taxpayers Association said Monday it is urging Orem taxpayers to vote in favor of Orem Proposition 2. (Stuart Johnson, Deseret News)


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OREM — Whether taxes will rise for Orem residents if it were to split from Alpine School District and form its own, an Orem-only district has been a hot-button topic throughout the duration of talks surrounding the proposed split.

Many proponents of the city's Proposition 2 have argued that Orem pays more money to the Alpine School District than it gets back and that the district — the largest in the state — is too big to provide an adequate education to each student.

"Since the last time this was considered ... Orem taxpayers have paid millions in taxes and seen pennies in return," Orem resident Evan Cox said during an Orem City Council meeting in August. "The purpose of the (feasibility) study was to determine if it was financially feasible. The answer is a resounding yes."

Conversely, Stronger Together — a group of parents, PTA councils, teachers and administrators that oppose Orem Proposition 2 — argues that Orem is getting an "extraordinary" deal by being a part of Alpine School District.

"Overall, for every $1 that Orem contributes to buildings outside of the city, we get an additional $8.75 from Alpine to keep our schools open and thriving," their website reads.

Now, after "extensive research and analysis," the Utah Taxpayers Association in a Monday news release urged Orem taxpayers to vote in favor of Proposition 2.

To come to this conclusion, the taxpayers association gathered information from a wide range of sources, including the Utah County assessor, Utah State Tax Commission, Utah State Board of Education and the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst.

The association said Stronger Together's claim that property taxes would increase 56% if Orem splits from Alpine School District is "patently false" and based on "inaccurate calculations," which suggest that Alpine School District subsidizes Orem school costs.

The release states that Stronger Together's calculations are inaccurate "for several reasons."

"First, they do not include all sources of funding that flow to a school district, which gives a distorted view of reality. Second, they initially relied on data that was mistakenly taken from 2017, and have since had to correct that claim. Another mistake was found when it was discovered that they included two high-cost schools which are no longer located in Orem and therefore should not be included," the taxpayers association said.

"In fact, data produced by the Alpine School District shows that Orem taxpayers are contributing a larger percentage of revenue to the Alpine School District than their proportionate share of the student population."

In 2009, Canyons School District split from Jordan School District and despite pledging that they wouldn't have to propose a property tax increase, it did exactly that less than a month after the split became official.

At an Orem City Council meeting in August, Councilman Tom Macdonald spoke to tax increases that could occur if Orem votes to create its own school district.

"As I stated previously, I would not vote for a split if it raises taxes — and this will," he said.

Still, the taxpayers association said it believes an Orem school district would have sufficient revenue to be self-sufficient, without relying on a property tax increase.

If a tax increase were needed, the association estimates it would be "very modest," and that the tax base would be even stronger if cities like Vineyard and Lindon were added to the Orem district.

The release from the taxpayers association concluded with a question aimed at Orem taxpayers.

"If the claims by 'Stronger Together' were correct (in that the remainder of Alpine School District subsidizes Orem to the tune of millions of dollars per year), why would they so vociferously oppose letting the Orem tax base form its own district?" the release states. "If one part of an organization is a financial drain, why oppose letting that part go?"

Following the release of the taxpayers association's position on the issue, Stronger Together on Tuesday responded with a statement of its own, further reinforcing their stance.

"We are highly concerned with the opinion given by the Utah Taxpayers Association on Orem's Proposition 2. That concern is compounded by the fact that they have not provided any data to challenge our claims of a significant tax increase," the statement said.

Stronger Together said it compiled information from Alpine School District's audited and publicly available reports and that the taxpayers association's information "appears to rely on unverified claims of the pro-split group."

"The claim that we left out revenue sources is actually a fundamental problem with the pro-split numbers," according to the Stronger Together statement. "Specifically, they included over $18 million in revenues from pass-through funds (money collected and immediately transferred to outside entities) related to charter schools and tax increment financing — funds that are not available to our schools."

The statement said there are five beliefs that "remain unchanged," even in light of the recent release from the Utah Taxpayers Association:

  1. Orem, on its own as a smaller district, will be more costly and have fewer resources.
  2. Orem schools receive significant funding as part of Alpine School District that will be lost if Orem forms its own district.
  3. Our teachers and administrators know this and 84% of surveyed teachers said they would try to leave Orem.
  4. Parents and others currently involved in our schools strongly oppose a split from Alpine District. Over 90% of surveyed PTA members oppose an Orem-only split. The Alpine Education Association voted unanimously to oppose the split.
  5. Programs and services will be severely disrupted for years to come.

"Furthermore, Alpine supports the right of communities to decide. But Stronger Together is a grassroots effort of local teachers, parents, and respected members of our community urging Orem residents to protect our schools and our children. Vote against the absolute folly of an Orem-only district. Vote no on Proposition 2," Stronger Together's said.

After years of debating the issue, the residents of Orem will, at last, have the final say in the future of the Alpine School District (and possibly an Orem district), when they vote on Orem Proposition 2 in November.

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Logan Stefanich is a reporter with KSL.com, covering southern Utah communities, education, business and tech news.

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