The Granite District School Board has finalized a decision to raise the local property tax in order to fund a universal pay raise for teachers.
The board voted unanimously on Tuesday to increase property tax by 12 percent within district boundaries, which covers most of northern Salt Lake County.
This decision, along with increased funding at the state level, allows for an 11 percent raise for all teachers in Granite.
This increase was originally announced in the Spring during a time when other neighboring districts raised their salaries and Granite was facing a severe teacher shortage.
“We had 300 vacancies going into this Fall and less than 200 applications," says Ben Horsley, the spokesperson for Granite.
Horsley says that now, with a few weeks to go before school starts, they are fully staffed with the exception of a few high level math classes.
Some residents have spoken out against the tax hike. Residents owning a home valued at $250,000 will pay roughly $90 more a year.
But Horsley says overall response has been positive and from the district’s perspective this was the only way to keep quality teachers in the classroom.
