Originally published June 17, 2020 by The Leader
At its regular meeting last week, the Box Elder School District Board of Education approved the combination of the boundaries for Foothill and Mountain View elementary schools in Brigham City into one, with a new elementary school to be built on the site of the old Bunderson Elementary that will house students from both existing schools.
The board thanked the public for input and comments throughout the six-month process leading up to this decision.
Keith Mecham, assistant superintendent, reported that projected enrollment for five elementary schools in the district has reached capacity. Those five include Foothill (94% of capacity), Garland (90% of capacity), Lake View (110% of capacity), McKinley (100% of capacity) and Century (91% of capacity). Those schools are now closed to any out-of-boundary transfer requests, with the exception of students and families in dual immersion programs.
All students currently attending out-of-boundary schools are grandfathered in. Others wishing to attend a school other than a home school can make application, available Aug. 1, online only, on a first-come, first-served basis. Please check with the school district office for complete instructions for any transfer, as rules may have changed for the coming school year.
Because the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2020 Utah legislature to interrupt meetings, the budget for the Box Elder School District for 2020-2021 as presented by Rod Cook, District Business Administrator, was based on the 2019-2020 existing budget.
When the legislature meets again, state funding will be applied and the budget revised including any cuts deemed necessary by law. It will need to be ratified again by the school board.
Cook presented the budget with revenue sources listed first. The district receives 54% from state funds, 6% from federal funds, and 40% from local funds. Expenditures include 48.90% going to salaries, 20.11% to benefits, 10.88% to supplies, 10.58% to purchased services, 2.51% to property and 7.02% to other including debt as shown by audited numbers of 2019.
The budget included the five largest taxpayers in Box Elder County — Ruby Pipeline, PacifiCorp, Procter & Gamble, Union Pacific Railroad and Nucor Corporation — and their contributions. The financial section includes a summary of all budgets, general funding, major expenditures and revenue sources, capital outlay fund and enrollment trends, etc.
The budget is open to the public’s questions, explanations, etc. A copy is available for review, Cook said. The board expressed thanks to him for the work and explanations given as Cook led the board through both budgets.
The next school board meeting will be held July 15 at the Independent Life Skills Center in Brigham City.