The Park City School District isn’t proposing a tax raise this year. Instead, district officials plan to pull $2.6 million from savings to cover the budget shortfall and preserve its programming.
Property taxes have been increased throughout the district over the past three years, prompting new school board members to find a way to balance the budget without putting a financial burden on taxpayers for fiscal year 2025-26.
Business Administrator Randy Upton characterized transferring money from the district’s reserve account as a “one-year deal” intended to address declining enrollment and staff salaries during the school board meeting on Tuesday. Despite pulling from savings, Upton said the fund balance remains well within auditor recommendations at $41 million.
“I’m comfortable where we’re at. We’ll see what next year brings. We’ll see what comes up this year,” he told school board members.
Student enrollment was 4,117 for this school year, and it’s projected to be 4,007 for 2025-26. Enrollment was previously 4,246 for the 2023-24 school year, 4,350 in 2022-23 and 4,592 in 2021-22.
The school district already repurposed $4.7 million after 32 staff positions, including both part-time and full-time jobs, were cut, according to Upton.
Superintendent Lyndsay Huntsman announced a reduction-in-force in April, including the elimination of Chief Operating Officer Mike Tanner’s position, also related to declining enrollment and realignment tied to the closure of Treasure Mountain Junior High at the end of the 2024-25 school year.
Upton said revenues to the general fund have been a bit stagnant. It was $117 million for 2024-25 and is projected to be about $118 million for 2025-26. Projected expenditures are about the same.
When asked if he was concerned about the following year, Upton said he wasn’t. He expected the drawdown to help support the district without raising taxes, and said there will likely be similar savings next year with other staff positions absorbed. However, the district will need to evaluate if enrollment continues to decline at a steady level.
“Our leadership across the school district understands the predicament we’re facing in terms of declining enrollment as well as being overstaffed in certain areas,” Huntsman said.
About 85% of the district’s budget is spent on salaries and benefits. Around 57% of the general fund is used for instruction — though the goal is to hit 60% — while student support makes up 9%, and district administrators are less than 1%.
Huntsman was adamant that administrators across the district have been collaborating to see where cuts make the most sense. Maintaining student-facing positions is a top priority while those working behind-the-scenes are most at risk.
Board members affirmed their intent is not to raise property taxes, although some residents will see higher bills such as if their home values increased. The district raised taxes in August 2024 by almost 5.5%.
The final budget vote is scheduled for June 17.