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Education Specialist Sandra Yi reportingVoters in the Jordan School District will decide today whether to approve the largest bond in state history. The $281 million bond would pay for 22 new schools.
A voted leeway tax - also on the ballot - would raise money to run those schools.
Voters have marked a relatively low but not surprising turnout for this election, and the district's future is in their hands.
"Education is very important. It's important for the whole society," says voter Vickie Hammond.
"I just think we need to do more for the schools. They're cutting their budgets constantly and we need to do things to educate our children because they're our future," says voter Myrna Standiford.
The school district is growing rapidly and anticipates it will have 15,000 more students in the district in the next eight years.
Administrators say the bond and voted leeway are the best solutions to accommodate the growth. But some say the burden shouldn't fall on all taxpayers. As one voter says, they're being, quote, "taxed to death."
"It's about time the state starts taxing, putting the head tax on us instead of just raising our taxes and making the people that's impacting the schools pay for the schools," says voter Bruce Eliason.
The bond would not increase property taxes because the district would only borrow new funds as the old debt is paid off. The voted leeway would raise property taxes $33 on a $100,000 home once it is phased in over the next 10 years.
"It's not just one tax, it's all these taxes. Nothing ever goes down. I mean, we just keep raising and raising and raising. I mean, we tax everything except what is causing the problem," Eliason says.
"We shouldn't be cutting our children's education short just because we have to pay a little bit more in taxes," Standiford says.
Voters in the Granite School District are also deciding whether to increase their property taxes to help offset an expected budget shortfall.
The proposed voted leeway tax would boost property taxes about $17 on a $150,000 home.
Polls are open until 8:00 p.m.
