OREM, Utah — At a recent farmers market in Orem, supporters for and against Proposition 2 were trying to persuade voters to their respective sides.
"We are on the side of Orem being a new school district and breaking away from Alpine School District," said Jennifer Young with Citizens for an Orem City School District, which supports Prop. 2.
"We are a grassroots organization that was formed to oppose Prop. 2 to form an Orem-only school district," said Cissy Rasmussen, one of the founders of "Stronger Together," which opposes the split.
The Orem City Council voted 4-3 to place the issue before voters. In recent weeks, the campaigns have intensified as voters in Orem will decide whether to break off from the Alpine School District (the state's largest school district) and form their own. Both sides have held rallies and meetings to explain their views. The Utah Taxpayers Association weighed in, supporting the split. Orem's local Parent Teacher Association councils came out against the split.
"It increases costs so that means a tax increase for our residents and maybe more importantly the teachers and involved parents are almost universally against it," Rasmussen said. "They know what’s happening in schools, they know it would be disruptive to our students, our schools. They’re against it so we are as well."
"I favor the split because it’s been a bad investment for Orem citizens with our tax base the last 20 years," said Young. "We’re concerned about the scores going down in the junior high and high schools in the Orem schools. We think a new school district would do just a better job overall with a new tax base staying in Orem."
Both sides disagree over the feasibility, tax burden and impacts to children's education. In the city's official pamphlet sent to Orem voters, proponents and opponents outlined their arguments.
"Study the issues," Young said she was telling voters. "We’re trying to give them the best information so they can see the information we’re giving is backed up by Utah’s [Taxpayer] Association."
"Think about what are you willing to pay for this potential change," Rasmussen said she was telling voters. "And most people would not be willing to pay higher taxes."
While Orem residents will decide the split, it's not the only issue before voters in the Alpine School District. They will also decide a $595 million school bond — the largest in state history.
"We’ve grown by 9,000 students in the last five years and we’re projected to grow by nearly 5,000 in 2030," said David Stephenson, the district's director of external communications.
The district itself cannot take a position on the bond (outside groups have chosen to weigh in for and against it), but has provided information to voters to explain what the bond covers and the impact to taxpayers. Growth and security are the two big reasons the bond is appearing on the ballot.
"This bond will fund one new high school, one new middle school, four new elementary schools, a rebuild of an elementary school. Also, we have American Fork High School and Pleasant Grove High School," Stephenson said. "Those two schools were both built in 1959. We have rebuilt portions of those schools, but we need to go in and finish the areas that still need to be rebuilt. And then we’re also looking at safety and security measures."
The district considered a bond in 2020, but after surveying parents in the district opted to wait until the COVID-19 pandemic started waning. The ballot language states that the 20-year bond would put $210 a year on a home valued at $500,000 (and $382 a year on a business valued at the same amount). However, because the bond is staggered with existing bonds that are due to retire, the rate would remain the same and it would basically have a $0 increase.
Complaints were recently lodged to the Lt. Governor's Office and Utah Attorney General's Office about whether the Orem City Council violated Utah's open meetings laws when it discussed both issues (the council voted 4-3 to support Prop. 2 and to oppose the bond). The attorney general's office tells FOX 13 News that while live-streaming options were shut off, it did not find the meetings were improperly closed because the in-person meeting continued with the public still in the room.
