Box Elder board reviews levies, tax math and possible truth-in-taxation steps

Neil, the district's business administrator, explained levy types, how certified tax rates are calculated and the mechanics of state equalization at a May 19 Box Elder School District work session. The board discussed possible truth-in-taxation steps to raise local revenue, how much additional revenue certain levy increases would generate and what that could mean for an average homeowner.

Neil told the board the district collects three levies it controls: the voter (voted) levy, the board (local) levy and the capital levy. The state and county control other pieces, including the basic school levy and a charter-school pass-through levy. He said the board's local levy and the capital levy are expressed as static rates (for example, the board local levy proposed by the district for the most recent year was 0.00221). "Our levy is a basic local levy ... board local levy," Neil said while presenting the spreadsheet…