Budget talks are underway in the Park City School District.

At the Park City Board of Education meeting last week, the Board reviewed its fiscal year 2019 preliminary budget. Todd Hauber, business administrator for the district, said that the Board bumped up the timeline for its budget discussions in order to allow more time for hiring new staff members. Normally, the preliminary budget is presented at the end of the school year.

Hauber said that funding for several new positions was added to the preliminary budget in order to support students in their mental health and wellbeing as well as academic success. There are a number of positions that would work directly with students, such as four Tier 3 interventionists and school social work counselors.

The budget also emphasizes making sure that a proper special education program is in place. Hauber said that there are more students who need intense services than in the past. The initial budget includes adding three special education teachers.

Other new positions would be a high school academic coach, an additional nurse, an additional Latino outreach aide, a translator, additional bus drivers, a mechanic, an executive director of human resources and additional dual-language immersion teachers at the junior high and high school.

A total of 26 full-time equivalency positions would be added, Hauber said. Since full-time equivalency counts those working full-time as one and partial positions as fractions, the total number of new employees would be more than that. The fiscal year 2018 budget added a similar amount of positions.

Hauber said that there is no talk of reducing positions within the district in the proposed budget.

The preliminary net tax increase would be $5.7 million. Hauber said that there will likely be a public hearing about the budget in April.