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Paul McCarty of DEC Services LLC gives a presentation on the Orem School District Feasibility Study at Orem Library Hall on Tuesday, July 19, 2022.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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Members of the public listen to a presentation on the Orem School District Feasibility Study on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, in Orem Library Hall.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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Michael Wankier of DEC Services LLC gives a presentation on the Orem School District Feasibility Study at Orem Library Hall on Tuesday, July 19, 2022.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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Orem Mayor Dave Young listens to a presentation on the Orem School District Feasibility Study on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, in Orem Library Hall.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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Members of the public listen to a presentation on the Orem School District Feasibility Study on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, in Orem Library Hall.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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At 7 p.m. Thursday in the Orem Library Hall, the final of three public open house meetings to discuss a potential split of city schools away from Alpine School District will be held.

DEC Services LLC with partners Paul McCarty and Michael Wankier signed a contract with the city March 28 to do a feasibility study probing the idea. On Tuesday, the Orem City Council will vote to see if the proposed new school district, based on that study, should be placed on November’s ballot.

There has been much discussion on the variety of issues that come with a new school district and if it is not only feasible, but practical and workable, particularly during a time of high inflation and potential recession.

Residents on both sides of the issue have taken to social media to get the word out about how they feel, what they think are discrepancies in the study or not, and why some believe a smaller district is the best option or not.

The feasibility study itself was issued by a 7-0 vote by the City Council. Every council member felt it was alright to take a look at what the potential could be. This latest iteration of the group joins past councils that have done the same in the past 15 years, as late as 2017. Those councils came to the same conclusion – all choosing to not put a separation proposal on the ballot at the time.

In 2017, the council concluded such a move might be feasible but still not practical. They also considered the fact that Alpine School District was continuing to do feasibility studies (another one was updated this year) with the notion that by 2030 or soon after, the district would divide.

McCarty and Wankier said in the study summation to the mayor and council, “We are in a position to make the following statement, in confidence, to you at this time. Of the fiscal and operational data collected and evaluated regarding the potential creation of a new city school district for the City of Orem, we conclude the creation and sustainability of such a school district is feasible.”

In the three weeks since that feasibility study was presented to the council, there have been numerous concerns brought forward by the public. Some are highlighted below.

Cost

Wankier and McCarty presented six scenarios with potential financial outcomes. Scenario five and six were added at the last public open house.

Both scenarios would include a bond to fund improvements to Orem schools to fix seismic issues. They do not cover everything concerning the startup of a new district, which DEC indicated would be at minimum $6 million to $8 million. All scenarios are compared to a baseline forecasted result under which the district doesn’t split and there are no new bonds issuances.

Per the scenarios as presented by DEC:

• If Orem splits from ASD, ASD bonds for $595 million and the new district bonds for $25 million to address seismic issues at schools, Orem property taxes would increase 6.5% and the remaining ASD areas would realize a property tax increase of 15.9%.
• If Orem splits from ASD, the new district issues a $25 million bond and raises taxes by 12.8% (what the tax increase would have been if Orem hadn’t split from ASD and the $595 million bond passed), allowing the new district to address seismic issues in addition to adding $4 million annually to its general fund.
• If Orem does not create a new school district and the $595 million bond proposed by Alpine School District passes, all taxpayers within ASD would experience a 12.8% increase in property taxes. The Orem taxpayers would be responsible for approximately $116 million (19.44%) of the related debt but have no guarantee as to the amount of reinvestment that would be made into Orem schools. (Historically, 13.3% of the bond allocations were directed to Orem from 2002 to 2021.)
• If Orem creates a new school district and ASD does not pass the $595 million bond, Orem residents would realize a forecasted 3.5% increase in property taxes. Residents of the remaining district boundaries would experience a 5.3% decrease in their property taxes.
• If Orem creates a new district and ASD passes the $595 million bond, Orem residents would realize a forecasted 3.5% increase in property taxes. Residents of the remaining district boundaries would experience a 10.6% increase in property taxes, as they would be obligated to pay for the $595 million bond. All of the proceeds would stay with the remaining district, but Orem residents would have no debt obligation as to the $595 million bond.
• If Orem splits from ASD, while ASD bonds for $595 million and the new district bonds for $125 million (the approximate amount Orem would need to remediate seismic issues), Orem property taxes would increase approximately 17.3%, and the remaining district would increase 10.6%. In this scenario, the proceeds from the $125 million bond would remain 100% in Orem.

By state code, if ASD passes a $595 million bond and Orem splits from the district, Orem would still be obligated to pay its percentage of the first draw down of the bond (the most expensive) as an Orem-only district would not become official until July 1, 2024.

Shared services

The topic of shared service agreements has been a heavy discussion in social media and was heavily supported by McCarty in the public hearings.

“Shared Services Agreements are cost effective and can improve quality of service,” he said. A newly formed city school district can share the cost of services and to avoid the duplicating of services with municipalities and neighboring school districts.

Examples of shared services can include, but are not limited to: transportation (buses and vehicle maintenance); purchasing and warehousing; a centralized food kitchen for the two school districts and shared food services; as well as special education and special needs students.

McCarty listed several other benefits in the study. “Although these governing bodies act independently of each other, sharing of these services could result in significant savings annually for each governing body,” he said.

While the idea might be entertained, it is not necessarily attractive to neighboring districts, nor is it a given it would happen.

The Provo Board of Education, recognizing that the Provo City School District had recently been approached by “an individual working with Orem City” about a partnership, released a statement that said, in part: “Although we are currently satisfied with our size and structure and do not foresee making any changes, Provo City School District and the Board of Education felt that it’s in the best interests of our public to at least explore these possibilities and help gather the information that is needed. It is our fiduciary responsibility to the residents and students of Provo City to ensure the best educational opportunities at the lowest cost. Please know that this is completely exploratory at this point and in no way a commitment to move forward in that direction. As we go through this process, we will keep the public informed of our findings.”

Alpine School Board member Sarah Hacken, of Orem, said, “Those decisions would not be made until the Orem district is formed. The current school board is not willing to make a decision for a future school board. There are no guarantees (shared services) could happen; it’s not a certainty.”

“If they don’t have the sources for a full program, that is something to be concerned about,” Hacken added.

Title 1 schools

There are nine Title 1 schools in the ASD, designated by the U.S. Department of Education as having a significant enrollment of low-income students. Of those, seven are in Orem. According to district information, Orem has 34% of the eligible Title 1 students but receives 83% of the funds, totaling about $5.65 million.

McCarty and Wankier spoke with Rob Smith, business administrator for ASD, who explained how Alpine handles Title 1 schools.

Per the feasibility study summation, “Mr. Smith confirmed that Title I funds do not follow the student who qualified for the Title I funds. In a March 9, 2022, PTA meeting at Northridge Elementary, ASD Board Member Sara Hacken said parents were told ASD collects the Title I funds and then distributes the monies as the ASD sees fit.”

While Orem gets a large percentage of the money, McCarty claimed that ASD may play favorites with wealthier schools.

Special Education Services

Several concerned residents have spoken up about this issue in the public meetings and on social media.

“We must not overlook our students who are receiving special education services (SPED) and how the decision before the Orem City Council may affect them and their families,” Ada Wilson, another ASD board member representing Orem, said on Facebook. “Many of them are served in Orem schools (1,688 students) in a variety of programs. Some receive services in neighboring cities (292 students) where, according to the feasibility study, services would need to be negotiated at a cost not yet determined or funded.”

Because of student demographics, more funds are generally expended on Orem students than what they actually bring to the budget. The additional funds, Wilson noted, come from from lower-needs areas throughout ASD’s 13 sister cities.

“Next to our English language learners, our students with disabilities account for the largest academic achievement gaps in our Orem schools,” Wilson and Hacken said in a joint statement.

“Meeting these student needs must be a priority. The ideal situation is to develop long-term connections with the neighborhoods in which these students’ services are offered, which will result in a shared commitment to their well-being and success. We believe that these children and their families will be better served by remaining a part of the Alpine School District.”

In discussing shared services, the feasibility study notes that one of those shared areas could be special education and special needs instruction, combining mental health specialists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and physical health services at one or more centralized schools for medically fragile and severely handicapped students.

During previous public meetings, parents of children attending or preparing to attend the Dan Peterson School asked if the new district would be prepared to care for these students if the shared experience was not available. The Peterson school is meant to help with educating severe special needs students.

Approximately 68 students who attend the school are from Orem.

The future of such a school would most likely be handled by the new school board, according to McCarty.

The public is encouraged to attend the last open house Thursday to voice their thoughts on the proposal.

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