Riverton » A standing-room-only crowd of irate property owners managed to dissuade the Jordan Board of Education from hiking taxes - at least for now.

Roughly 1,200 people filed into Riverton High School's auditorium Tuesday evening for a truth-in-taxation hearing, pleading with the board to find other ways to plug a $33 million budget shortfall. Seniors on fixed incomes, small business owners, parents and laid off workers came armed with ideas: pay cuts for highly paid administrators, furloughs, a shortened school year, volunteer labor, even increasing class sizes.

These may not be popular alternatives, but they're "preferable to kicking people out of their homes," said 71-year-old Carol Nicolodemos.

The board was poised to approve a 35 to 40 percent tax increase. But at 1:30 a.m. after more than five hours of emotional testimony, punctuated by thundering applause and cat calls, members tabled the motion.

They will re-examine the budget and meet again at the high school next week on August 11 for a final vote. Whether public comment will be allowed is uncertain, said Jordan spokeswoman Melinda Colton.

"The board was just a little bit frazzled and wanted more time to look at furloughs, taking more from the fund balance" and other options, said Colton.

Explaining the tax proposal, district Superintendent Barry Newbold said, "Were it not for the split, we would not be here tonight."

A 40 percent hike would net about $25 million, nearly $19 million of which would be spent plugging budget holes.

When Jordan's east-side communities voted to break from the district and form their own, Jordan lost 44 of its 84 schools and its rich property tax base.

That and the recession depleted Jordan's rainy day funds and left the district without enough cash to fund schools, much less to meet projected enrollment growth, explained Newbold.

There was no shortage of people Tuesday angry about the split, but some argued it's not reason enough to pass such an exorbitant tax hike.

The split is a politically expedient excuse for taking the easy way out, said Matt Young of Riverton. "Every district in this state is facing a budget crisis. Why are we the only one looking at a tax increase?"

Young asked why new revenue is needed when Jordan will receive $10 million from other Salt Lake County schools as part of a legislatively-approved equalization plan.

That money may be restricted for construction, said Young. "But why not lower the portion of property taxes dedicated to paying down bonding debt on schools already built?"

Others wondered why at another hearing across town, the new Canyons school board voted against raising taxes.

South Jordan Mayor W. Kent Money warned if district officials fail to heed taxpayer complaints, they could be due for another split.

David Thompson was among those vowing to vote board members out of office.

"Things are tough out there for everyone," said the Riverton man. "When I went to high school, I parked on a gravel lot and got a fine education. It's time to park the Lexus and drive a Ford for awhile."

Wendy Brown, a parent and district employee, suggested taxpayers might support a moderate increase if they thought the money was well spent.

"At least give us the appearance of discretion in spending," said Brown who questioned why the downsized district hasn't cut a comparable number of staff.

Board members contend they have made hard decisions, laying off nearly 200 employees and freezing merit pay raises for teachers. In a district poll, patrons asked to keep class sizes stable.

"But what people say in a survey and what they say when they actually have to pay the bill can be different things," said Royce Van Tassell, analyst for the Utah Taxpayers Association.

Reiterating the association's call for schools to move to a year-round semester schedule, Van Tassel warned, "Tonight's increase will pale in comparison to the coming years. Taxes could more than double in the next 10 years if things stay the way they are."

kstewart@sltrib.com