Davis School Board approves $12.7 million property tax increase after public hearing

The Davis School District Board of Education voted to approve a proposed $12,725,298 property tax increase for the 2025–26 school year following a public hearing that drew dozens of citizens, teachers and community groups.

Business administrator Timothy Leffel explained the proposal at the start of the hearing, saying the district was seeking the increase primarily to cover a $8,200,000 shortfall created by changes in the state—s guarantee program and to address rising capital and operating costs. "The 8,200,000.0 is the difference between the old law and the new law," Leffel said, describing how adjustments to the state—s hold-harmless calculation shifted more of the guarantee burden onto local levies.

Why it matters: The district said nearly 70% of its revenue comes from state funding and about 21% from property taxes; the proposed increase affects only the property-tax portion of district revenue, not the entire district budget. Leffel told the board and the public the increase would be split between the operations and capital envelopes and used for items such as reimbursements for school resource officers, subscription-based curriculum, utilities and maintenance, student supports and limited class-size relief.

Leffel walked through the mechanics of the certified tax rate and the state guarantee program, saying Davis previously received about…