Alpine School District's goal is to propose a bond every 4 years to the public.  Alpine School District has been able to pay off past bonds in approximately 17 years. As you can imagine, taxes do not remain level when you consistently layer in a new bond every four years, rather you will see a tax increase. These tax increases are illustrated below in the following graph. Each new bond, represented by a new color, is “layered” on top of the existing debt. As you can see the overall debt continually rises, and will continue to do so if voters pass ASD’s proposed bonds every four years.

If the funds for the GO Bond is insufficient for the needs the district has proposed, as is the case for all of the projects proposed on the 2016 bond, then Alpine’s Board of Education Members can vote to issue a Lease Revenue(LR) Bond (also paid for by the district's taxpayer base) to complete the needed work.  A Lease Revenue Bond differs from General Obligation bonds in at least two ways:  

1. The public is not given the opportunity to vote on this debt (which still is placed on each property in the district), and 

2. The interest rate is generally higher than a General Obligation bond.  

A (not) fun fact:  ASD has claimed in the 2022 bond pamphlet and advertising materials, that they completed the projects promised on the original 2016 bond. They also imply that all of the projects were funded through that GO Bond.  FACT - this is NOT TRUE.  ASD went over budget on all 15 school construction projects and ran out of money before the Trailside and Harbor Point schools had begun.  So the Board, without your vote consent, issued more debt on your property that will last until 2042.  They did this three times since 2016!  If you look closely at the financial statements, on page 6, it identifies the projects completed on the 2016 bond, and on the very next page (page 7), ASD states that Lease Revenue Bonds were obtained to complete Centennial, Trailside, and Harbor Point.  Lease Revenue bonds were issued in 2018, 2020, and 2022.  Condolences on the debt you never consented to being placed on your property.  

Currently, Alpine School District still has 2 GO bonds the public is paying off (2011 & 2016).  Each one of the 14 cities in ASD pays a portion of this debt through their property taxes - viewed here.  Just like a loan, interest is added to the principal balance of the debt. 

Let's look at some numbers. In the FY2023 Budget, ASD's current debt with interest is:

ASD GO Bond debt is:         $   509 Million

ASD Lease Revenue Bonds debt is:    $     82 Million

Total Bond Debt Current:    $   591 Million

If 2022 Bond Passes:            $   595 Million

Total Bond Debt:         $1,186 BILLION Dollars

For the 2022 bond debt, Orem will pay:    $200 million ($116 million plus $84 million in interest)

The amount returning to Orem:        $15 million for two gyms

The Orem money lost to other cities:       ($185 million)

So when are Alpine School District’s Bond debts scheduled to be paid off:

• General bonds – will expire in 2035

• Lease Revenue bonds – will expire in 2042

• If the 2022 bond passes – will expire in 2045, however, remember that ASD plans to bond every 4 years. (Refer to the graph above.)

Have you ever heard of “front-loading” a debt?  Bonds are issued in tranches or phases. ASD is issuing $200M of the $595M in the first year. During the second year, $175M of the $595M. So in the first two years, 63 percent of the debt will be issued.  ASD has structured the 2022 GO Bond to be front-loaded. This means that debt will be incurred faster, which means that taxpayers will start paying interest faster than if the bond was issued in equal installments. So your property taxes will rise faster than if the bond was issued in equal installments. 

Facts you need to be aware of when voting.

FACT 1 - Alpine School District has a history of overspending on bonds:

• 2011 bond was overspent 17% ($34.3 M)

• 2016 bond was overspent 31% ($115 M)

• How much will the 2022 bond be overspent? Unknown

FACT 2 - Alpine School District Board Members voted on your behalf to issue Lease Revenue bonds in 2018, 2020, and 2022 to cover the overspent expenditures from previous bonds, resulting in an additional $82 Million Dollar debt that will last on your property until 2042.

Fact 3 - Alpine School District has steadily increased residents' property taxes over the past 20 years at an average annual rate of 8.2% which is an increase of 165%!  No, you aren’t going crazy when you see your tax bill increasing year by year while ASD is saying they haven’t raised taxes.

Fact 4 - ASD’s accountability is in question, especially since they have reported different numbers to the public and to the State, and also in their audited financials. It’s no wonder that 54% of Alpine School District residents feel that Alpine School District is mismanaging funds! Let’s review past Bond accountabilities and see where we are at:

Alpine School District’s 2011 Bond Accountability  - Overspent 17%.

Review ASD 2011 Bond Expense Report to the Public

Review ASD 2011 Bond report to the state auditors.

Alpine School District’s 2016 Bond Accountability - Overspent 31%, and did not deliver on completed projects as reported.

2016 Bond Promises 

Alpine Accountability graphic/report to the public. Centennial, Trailside, and Harbor Point schools were not completed by the 2016 Bond funds.  As previously stated above, Lease Revenue bonds were issued in 2018, 2020, and 2022 to complete these schools.

In the graphs below you will see ASD’s 2016 bond expenditures per project and how much each project was over budget.

2016 - Infogram Report

Review ASD 2016 Bond Expense Report to the public.

Review ASD 2016 Bond report to the state auditors.

What are Alpine School District’s True Intentions:

It was recently revealed in an alarming and viral YouTube video that Alpine School District Business Administrator, Rob Smith, shared information with Alpine School Board Member, Ada Wilson, on how he set up his PIC “Friends of Alpine School District” that he created back in 2016, specifically for the 2016 Bond. 

This picture below is a billboard that sits along I-15, urging property owners to vote for a $595 million debt to be placed on every property located in Alpine School District boundaries. Who paid for this advertisement? Friends of Alpine School District PIC. From GRAMA requested materials provided by ASD, we know that Friends of Alpine (FOA) was established by Rob Smith – the same Rob Smith listed above, ASD’s Business Administrator. Does this seem like a conflict of interest that a business insider is urging voters to approve the debt that directly impacts his employment? It actually is illegal and violates Utah State Law and ASD’s own political neutrality policies. There are other billboard ads paid for by FOA as well.

So, who else is involved in the “Friends of Alpine School District” PIC organization?  A quick search tells us - 2 current Alpine School District Board of Education Members, 3 Alpine School District Employees, and an Orem PTA Cluster President are a part of this organization:

Primary Officers:

• Julie King (Alpine School District - Board of Education Member)

• Julie Walker (Orem High School Cluster PTA Council President)

Chief Financial Officer:

• Rob Smith (Alpine School District Business Administrator) 

Governing Board Members:

• Mark Clement (Alpine School District - Board of Education Member, President) 

• David Stephenson (Alpine School District Executive Director of External Relations & Communications) 

• Kimberly Bird (Alpine School District Executive Director of Internal Relations & Operations)

Again, is this a conflict of interest for the employees of Alpine School District to be pushing an agenda at their place of employment? Rob Smith is one of the highest-paid administrators at Alpine School District with $325,000+. David Stephenson makes $250,000+, and Kimberly Bird makes $235,000+, all conspiring to pass the bond. What will they gain if this bond passes?

We also have Julie Walker – the President of The Orem High School Cluster PTA Council. Is this why Orem’s PTA Leadership has gotten involved so aggressively? Why has Orem PTA become a political battleground? What is Orem's PTA Leadership's true agenda and what will they gain? Or have they already gained?

Board Member, Julie King, is over West Lake Cluster, and Board Member, Mark Clement, is over the Pleasant Groove Cluster, both are also conspiring to pass the bond.  What do these people have to gain if the bond passes? What is the rest of the story?

Interestingly enough, no donations were made to this PIC until Sept 2022. An even more compelling part of this story is why are the main donations from contractors who are supposed to follow the open bid process. These Contractors have already built schools for ASD (thus they have a financial relationship with ASD). Those contractors are now taking the funds that ASD pays to them and then using them in a campaign to pass another bond where ASD can pay them even more!  Is ASD taking bribes to fund its propaganda? Or is ASD bribing them?

Given the back and forth of both sides and Orem’s search for actual truth, we really must question the Alpine School District’s intentions when we see their employees and board members actively participating in a PIC to influence voters. There are reasons for laws prohibiting employees from being involved in PICs and to remain politically neutral.  Some reasons could include:  benefitting from special relationships, having greater access to public and employee information, and masking inside information that employees are aware of (like information about ASD’s intended school closures) that employees can manipulate to influence voters to or away from.  This information brings on more questions:

Questions:

• Why create a PIC for your employer? 

• Do the donations made to this PIC indicate a “pay for play” arrangement with contractors, architects, and other companies working with ASD?

• Does Alpine School District have ulterior motives for this proposed $595 Million Dollar Bond?

• Is this why ASD published a District Split Summary Report with over $79.3 Million Dollars in errors?

• Is this bond for the benefit of schools or ASD Employees? 

• How many promotions and pay raises have these ASD employees received since the forming of FOA PIC in 2016? You can look that up at Transparent.Utah.org

• Why is ASD working so hard with the opposition and PTA leaders to keep Orem in ASD?

• Could it be because Orem's tax base is so valuable?  

• Could the proposed 2022 Bond affect ASD employees’ paychecks?

• Is this why ASD is trying to hide talks about selling Orem schools?

• What are Orem PTA's true intentions in preventing Orem from splitting from ASD?

  • Is the Orem PTA getting a Kick Back? Or have they already gotten it, and that is why they are quickly amending their budgets by email instead of at their Executive Meetings?

  • Is Orem PTA using all donated funds received for political campaigning rather than helping kids? Is this why there is an urgency to add an “Advocacy” line item to the budget that was not previously there?

  • How much funds have the Orem and Utah PTA used for their political campaigning in the past compared to how much they have spent on Prop 2? 1000 yard signs certainly are not cheap.

• Are ASD residents correct in their surveyed response that 54% of ASD residents feel ASD is mismanaging funds and untrustworthy?

• Why are ASD Bond accountability reviews being removed by ASD?

• Why have ASD Bonds gone over budget?

• Why are there different numbers on public reports vs audited reports?  

• Why is ASD not forthright with its accountability reports?

• Where is ASD's true transparency? Example - ASD removing materials provided to the public during their Bond information meetings.

• What are ASD's true intentions for the bond? How many projects will go over budget, while the other promised projects come later through non-voted-upon lease revenue bonds?

• Why is ASD reporting different numbers to different entities?  

Utah State law requires all school districts to submit a Bond Report detailing the costs of all construction projects included on their bonds. Additionally, state law requires a School Plant Report to be filed annually with the State Auditor for projects with costs exceeding $2 Million. ASD’s costs are reported to the State Auditor in the School Plant Report. Since 2004, the vast majority of the costs on these two reports do not match. No one, including ASD, appears to know the costs of ASD school projects! In the case of Viewpoint, ASD‘s 2016 bond report states the cost of approximately $42 Million, yet the School Plant Report states the cost as approximately $59 Million - a difference of $17 Million!!

In addition, Alpine School District’s Fixed Asset detail provided to Orem dated 5/11/22 is missing Viewpoint, and several other schools, entirely even though these schools have been in use for at least one year. The calculation of an Orem school district provided by ASD does not match their audited financials. An investigation by state officials is certainly warranted when ASD misstates their numbers to the public with a $79.3 Million Dollar ERROR! ASD consistently goes over budget on all construction projects, and the public demands oversight.

The public deserves an honest accounting of the funds that the public has contributed.  The public deserves to have a straightforward and clear explanation of how the funds will be used, how oversight will be utilized to authorize draws of these funds and to prevent overspending while staying within budget. An explanation is due to the public for wasteful spending they made at schools and then demolished - like the $400K roof they put on Geneva Elementary, only to tear down the school less than 2 years later (by ASD’s own 40-yr lifespan measurement). The public deserves a frank and honest explanation of all funding given by each municipality in the form of property taxes, and how much money was spent in each municipality on each bond.  An accounting must take place for each city to know if ASD’s treatment of that city’s funds has been fairly and equitably distributed.  It is time for credit to be expressed and given to every city for its contribution and benefit.

ASD has been called upon to give this information time and again, and has not provided it.  So how can anyone feel secure in placing this much debt on their property in the hopes that ASD might do the right thing for each municipality?  If past historical action is any indication, ASD will go over budget on the proposed 2022 Bond – on frivolous and unnecessary items like gyms we don’t need while Orem schools remain seismically unsafe, or a decorative wrought iron fence at an elementary school in Eagle Mountain (which was already over-budget by more than ¾ of a million dollars) that no other school has, or Skyridge High School which can only be described as opulent.  And when ASD runs out of money, which they will inevitably do, they will issue more debt to be placed on your property without your consent, in the form of Lease Revenue Bonds.  ASD has already said that it needs at least 2 or 3 more general obligation bonds to build enough schools for the west side, and numerous lease revenue bonds will follow to cover up for their overages.  Adding more debt to all properties in the district is their intention.  They are not hiding this.

So what can you do to stop this never-ending flow of money out of Orem?  What mechanism is in place to hold ASD accountable for how they spend your tax dollars? The truth is, nothing! The only way you have a say is to VOTE! Now is your opportunity to do the realistic and prudent thing.  Vote no to the staggering $600 million bond (actually $949 million with interest as understated by ASD – which is more appropriately $1.06 billion with today’s interest rates).  Vote yes to an Orem district so we can keep Orem money local and fix our programs and schools that are in desperate need. Vote for School Board Representatives who will actively speak up for Orem, who are fiscally minded, and who are committed to listening, understanding, and solving every school’s issues within their boundaries.

Resource Links

ASD Finance Report

ASD City Taxes

ASD Accountability Question in Deseret News Guest Opinion Article

ASD 2011 Bond Expense Report

State Auditor Reports

2016 Bond Promises

Alpine 2016 Accountability graphic/report to the public

2016 - Infogram Report - Over expenditures

Review ASD 2016 Bond Expense Report to the public

ASD Administrators caught breaking the law

PIC “Friends of Alpine School District”

Friends of Alpine School District Donors

Alpine School District Contractors

Utah State Law - Neutrality Law

ASD’s own political neutrality policies

ASD Bond Survey Y2 Analytics Study - Public Notice

ASD Bond Survey Y2 Analytics Study - Youtube, Minute Mark 17.00 - 54% of ASD residents feel ASD is mismanaging funds.

ASD Bond History

March 30, 2006 - Deseret News - ASD Bond Proposal.

Nov 6, 2006 – Deseret News Report - Need for schools critical, ASD says - “The district plans to pay off current bond debt while adding on new bond debt. It's called "layering," and taxes should not increase above the 2005 tax rate of .008082. Bond debt will be repaid in 15 years.” - 

September 1, 2010 – ASD update for $250 Mil Bond passed in 2006 - Article removed.

Aug 16, 2011 - Salt Lake Tribune - $210 Mil Bond Proposal

Nov. 13, 2011 - BYU Article - $210 Bond passes for ASD - “The average home in the district will pay $38 each year for 20 years.” Smith said. “I am happy to pay more money for education improvements.” ASD’s bond rate ends up being half of what was expected.

Feb 15, 2012 - Daily Herald - ASD’s bond rate ends up being half of what was expected. - “The district was able to sell the bonds for 2.15 percent interest; the expected rate was 4 percent. The money is the first portion of a $200 million bond to build new schools and improve existing buildings. The majority of the $52 million will go to build a middle school in Eagle Mountain.” 

May 16, 2016 - Fitch Ratings - Fitch ratings has assigned an ‘AAA’ rating to ASD.

Aug 17, 2016 - Fox News – $387 Mil Bond - “School board member Brian Halladay voted against the bond. He said the majority of the growth is on the west side, and his constituents are in the east. "Basically we are receiving four percent of the 387 million dollar bond," Halladay said. "Maybe it's time to see if our district should be split." 

Nov 9, 2016 – Utah Valley 360 - $387 Mil ASD Bond Passes 

2016 Bond Review - Infogram - Bond Costs

ASD 2016 Bond Accountability Video -YouTube Video Removed.