Davis School District outlines budget timeline, cites 5% WPU increase and fee eliminations; board set to ratify agreements May 7

Craig Carter, business administrator for the Davis School District, outlined the district’s annual budget and contract‑negotiation schedule and flagged several state legislative changes that will affect next year’s operations.

Carter said the district begins budget planning in late summer and early fall when the Board of Education sets priorities, continues through the winter break and then incorporates outcomes from the state legislature, which convenes in January for a 45‑day session. "The legislature passed 118 bills that will require effort on all of our parts to implement those changes," he said.

Among the changes Carter highlighted, he said, was "an increase to the value of the WPU of 5%," referring to the Weighted Pupil Unit that underpins district funding. He also described bills that will take effect in about a year, including the elimination of all curricular and co‑curricular fees at the high‑school and secondary level and a parental leave program. Carter said the district will need to establish policy for the parental leave program and expects those changes to be ready to go by 07/01/2025.

On bargaining and implementation timing, Carter said the district’s compensation and negotiation process will conclude this season when the Board of Education meets on May 7 to ratify negotiated settlements with the district’s associations, pending ratification by those associations. "Once that's done, then we'll be ready to implement those changes starting July 1 of each new year," he said. The transcript indicates the compensation process timeline was described as "roughly 6," but the unit (weeks/months) was not specified in the remarks.

Carter framed the district’s objectives around improving working conditions and compensation to attract and retain staff and to provide educational opportunities for students, stating the district’s "number 1 goal is to enhance the working conditions of all of our employees as well as compensation."

The Board’s May 7 meeting was presented as the next formal step; the transcript does not record the text of a motion or a final vote outcome. The district will need to complete association ratification and any required policy drafting (for example, for parental leave) before the stated July 1 implementation timeline.