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Show School District Weighs Problem Of Bonding To Hake Funds Available; Superintendent Explains The Issue To Duchesne County Citizens: The Duchesne County Board of Education is confronted with the problem of whether or not they should attempt to float a bond issue, in order to comply with 1951 state legislation, directed di-rected toward receiving some of the $2,000,000 supplemental state building aid. It appears that different individuals in-dividuals have varying opinions, so in view of this the following article might be helpful. During the regular 1951 session ses-sion of the State Legislature, a bill was introduced and passed appropriating- $2,000,000 to be spent in needy school districts as supplemental building aid. However, in order to meet the requirements of the law, a school district must qualify by agreeing to meet certain legal procedures. One of these requirements calls for certain voting commitments commit-ments on the part of the people. After all, any school practice or legislative act involves the ! people because they elect the ! board members and legislators. ' The following steps must have been taken, or should, be taken to qualify for supplemental state building aid. 1. A Board of Education must have requested a building survey, sur-vey, by letter, prior to June 30, 1951. Duchesne School District did this. ' 2. The Board of Education must argee to answer and fill out all forms submitted for survey sur-vey purposes prior to the visit of the Supplemental Building Rurvpv rnmmittee. Duchesne School District has complied. 3 The Superintendent must accompany the Building Survey Committee to each school while they are in his particular district. dis-trict. This has been done. 4. The Board of Education must pass a resolution pledging the district to levy for school building purposes, including levy for bond interest and sinking sink-ing fund, a levy for at least twelve mills for each of at least four successive years. . or ten mills for each of at least five successive years, the levy to begin be-gin with the taxes of 1952. If your district has levied this amount for school building purposes pur-poses in 1951, that year may count as one of the required years. This is in force now. 5. The district must have exhausted ex-hausted its legal bonding limit for school building purposes, including purchase of site, erection erec-tion of buildings, and equipment equip-ment of same. The present law gives this bonding limit as 4 of 100 of reasonable, fair cash value of property. Since the present law requires assess ment of property at 40 of actual value, the legal bonded indebtedness limit is now assumed as-sumed to be 10 of the present assessed valuation. Two districts have already voted bonds at 10 of assessed valuation and have been unable to sell the bonds. A case is now in the Utah Supreme Court to determine the legal bonded indebtedness limit of school districts. It is prob able that the 4 of acutal value will be sustained by the Court. But the Supreme Court will probably not give a decision until after June 1. A district, therefore, in order to be safe in meeting qualifications, must vote bonds for 10 of I its present assessed valuation. It would thus meet any limit which the Court might determine. deter-mine. 6. The 1951 assessed valuation of Duchesne County was $7,603,154.00, which means that we could bond legally to the extent of $760,000, providing any organization would buy the bonds. Then, if we did do this, we would have no need for state aid in other words, we would obligate the people of Duchesne County to that extent. 7. If the bond issue was presented pre-sented for voting and you citizens citi-zens voted against it, we would be eliminated from sharing in the state supplemental building aid, as well. 8. The daily papers hint of a possibility of another special session of the legislature for purposes of extending the time limit in which districts may qualify. However, even if this is done, the same picture remains. re-mains. 9. There is the possibility that the legislature will amend the law and slacken the requirements. require-ments. 10. Frankly, the Board of Education Ed-ucation is wondering just how to act on this last requirement, and just how we will benefit if we do float the bonds. 11. It would cost the district nearly $1500 to call a bond election. elec-tion. By Dean C. Christensen, - Superintendent of Schools |