Show TAXPAYERS COMMITTEE investigates fillmore utah march 3 1927 TO THE TAXPAYERS OF bf MILLARD COUNTY your committee which was appointed to investigate the reasons tor for the action of the board of education at their meeting held march 1 1927 a at t which a resolution was passed calling a special election ot of the qualified voters of millard county to pass on the proposition of whether the board of education shall bo be authorized to levy an additional three mill tax to the present maximum levy 0 of 75 mills over a i period ot of three years begs to make the following report your committee met in the offices ot of tho the board of education with the county superintendent and clerk of the school board who generously supplied us with all the data and information that were requested after a careful perusal of this information and data we herewith submit the facts as nearly as we are able to give them as being true according to our best knowledge and belief in the year 1925 by special election of the qualified electors of millard county the board of education was authorized to make an additional levy of three mills to the already maximum of 75 for a period of two years during the school year beginning july 1 1925 and ending june 30 20 1926 tho the board of education received from taxes during that year there were ere in average dally daily attendance which means that the taxpayers ot of millard county supplied to the school board tor for each school child the sum of 0 whereas in the same year the taxpayers taxpayer of murray a city ot of tine fine schools ot of nine months duration furnished the school board tor for all purposes or a sum BUM 2903 less and sevier county spent during the same year the sum ot of f per capita or tor for bac each 11 school child or a difference ot of during this same year the school board placed in their budget the sum ot of tor for building purposes anticipating this sum from the three mill levy that the people had bad authorized them to make upon the assessable property of millard county this amount they proceeded to borrow upon a promissory note to be partly paid that year and the balance the next year but instead ot of spending the amount of placed in the budget they spent the sum of overrunning the budgeted sum by whereas it if they had bad stopped to figure before making these enormous expenditures where their money was coming from a good deal ot of their prose present nt financial embarrassment might have been eliminated because in figur figuring I 1 ng a three mill tax on an assessed valuation of 0 for or two years the length of the authorized three mill levy would bring the approximate sum of 95 it if every cent of the taxes were collected but due to the fact act that there are always thousands of dollars of delinquent taxes in this county the school board collected only approximately tS which Ss Is less than the amount tha chaj they had previously expended we take this as oneff the main items that Is causing the present deficit in the cash account of 0 the school board herewith we ask your indulgence to submit the figures showing the disposition of the funds plus a small number of items which we shall shrill liot take the space to present derived from this extra three mill tax authorized in 1925 AMOUNT NT U U years itza ag 2 and 1926 1929 ST 27 1925 26 COST meadow building Sui sutherland herland building delta high addition fillmore high shop fillmore junior high hinckley high shop hinckley grade PLUMBING AND HEATING IN kanosh scipio lynndyl lynndal 1 2 TOTAL 19 1926 2 6 27 burbank Burban lc leamington leavington Lea addition delta shop addition also paid on oil hinckley high school TOTAL during the school year beginning july 1 1926 which will end june 30 this year the school board made a budget for all purposes in n the sum ot of of this amount the school board has received from the county school fund and the state school fund and other sources an amount equal to which we find Is only less than the budget calls tor for we find therefore that the school board has actually received from the taxes of 0 the people for educational purposes an all amount equal to approximately for or each school child up to feb 11 1927 with three mouths months of 0 school yet to go we are obliged in Y view low ot of this situation to make the statement that the school board evidently did not accurately figure their budget tor for the reason that they tell that they now need more in addition to the that they have already had to complete the work of 0 this school term we find that they have as available resources due from rom the statland state and due from delinquent taxes which Is a resource upon which they can borrow making a total of 0 or less than the board estimated necessary to finance the schools during the remainder of this school year your committee finds further the school board has made a budget calling tor for a certain amount of money distributed over a number ot of accounts for or instance in the repair account we find that nothing has been included in the budget but wo we find there has been expended so tar far this year the sum hum ot of we also find tand that the budget has been exceeded in a tew few other accounts our understanding ot of the law is that when a budget Is made the school board cannot legally exceed it in their administration ot of the school affairs we also find that during the school year of 1925 26 the school board transferred interest which was earned by the sinking funds to the general fund and there spent it tor for general school purposes we understand that the law requires that this fund remain intact and is to be used to liquidate the bonded indebtedness of the school district your committee feels that the taxpayers may want to know in this report what the items are which entail the greater costs in operating the school plant wo we take this opportunity of including a few of them we ind that the cost of teachers salaries Is or a per cara cost tor for each school child of approximately we also find that the salaries of 0 janitors Is approximately and that the cost of transportation por tation Is the administrative cost la Is including the salaries of 0 the superintendent and tho the primary supervisor many additional items could bo be added to this report by way of acquainting qua inting ting you with the actual financial condition of the millard county school district in the larger questions pertaining to this matter the foregoing report has been prepared by the undersigned undersigner under signed according to our best information and belief in view of the limited time that we have had bad to prepare it it la Is submitted without prejudice toward any one and with our sincere hope that it may be of value to the taxpayers of millard county alonzo huntsman C 11 II day byron howells committee |