District leaders told the Uintah School District Board on Oct. 8 that the district’s total enrollment has fallen modestly over the past year and that the district narrowly avoided a costly truth-in-taxation certification problem because it met new electronic public input requirements.

Enrollment figures cited at the meeting showed a fall enrollment around 6,400 students in late August; after the 10-day count the total was reported as about 6,372 and ‘‘current’’ enrollment was stated as 6,347 — a decline of about 139 students over the prior 12 months, board members said. Board and district staff said the pattern varies by school: ‘‘Some of the schools have dropped a, you know, some big numbers,’’ a board member said during committee reporting.

Truth-in-taxation compliance and electronic public input
District staff said recently adopted state rules tied to truth-in-taxation certification require not only an electronic broadcast of hearings but also that the public be able to submit comments electronically in real time during the meeting. The district reported it preserved its certification because it provided a live electronic public-input option using a SurveyMonkey function during the meeting, a practice district staff said some other districts had not followed. Troy Timothy, the district’s business administrator, explained the difference in practice and said the district’s live input setup ‘‘saved us’’ while other districts lost certification for failing to provide real-time electronic input.

Other districts affected and financial stakes
Speakers at the meeting referenced widespread problems across the state where some large districts lost certification and funds over minor technicalities. The board noted news reports that listed dozens of affected entities and said that the district’s staff and county partners thoroughly checked the process and ensured the district complied.

Why it matters
Failure to meet truth-in-taxation procedural requirements can result in a district losing the ability to certify a tax increase or levy, with direct funding consequences. The board said the district’s advance attention to electronic public input prevented such a loss.

Ending
Staff said they will continue to monitor enrollment closely and finalize school-by-school counts for reporting. The board asked administrators to provide more specific school-level enrollment data at a later date.