State of the District Report

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Strategic Framework 

Cache County School District’s work is guided by a clear and coherent strategic plan that defines the district’s purpose, priorities, and values. This framework provides direction for decision-making and serves as the foundation for evaluating performance across the organization.

Mission   

The mission of Cache County School District is to educate students for success in a changing world. This mission reflects a commitment to ensuring that all students develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to succeed academically, contribute meaningfully to their communities, and adapt to future challenges.

Core Values 

The district’s core values establish expectations for how work is carried out across schools and departments. These values emphasize both outcomes and the manner in which those outcomes are achieved:

• Student-Centered – Decisions are made in the best interest of students, prioritizing their learning, well-being, and long-term success.
• Community – Strong partnerships with families and the broader community support student learning and strengthen schools.
• Character – Integrity, responsibility, and respect guide interactions and decision-making.
• Excellence – Continuous improvement and high expectations drive performance across all areas of the district.

These values are reflected in the district’s cultural commitment that every stakeholder is seen, heard, and valued.

Strategic Priorities  

The district’s strategic plan is organized around three primary priority areas that align with both operational performance and long-term outcomes:

Learning and Growth
The district is committed to ensuring high levels of student learning and achievement. Key indicators include:

• Third-grade reading proficiency
• Mathematics achievement
• High school graduation rates
• Participation and success in advanced coursework

Relationships
Strong relationships are foundational to student success and organizational effectiveness. The district prioritizes:

• Student attendance and engagement
• Family and community satisfaction
• Safe and supportive school environments

Employee Investment
Recognizing that staff are the district’s most important resource, the district focuses on:

• Recruiting and retaining high-quality educators
• Providing meaningful professional development
• Supporting employee satisfaction and long-term retention

Alignment to the District      

The analysis presented in this report is grounded in these strategic priorities. Financial decisions, staffing models, and operational structures are evaluated not only for efficiency but also for their alignment with student outcomes and organizational goals.

Across the following sections, the district’s operating model, characterized by relatively low per-student spending, competitive compensation, and strong student performance, is examined through the lens of this strategic framework. This approach allows for a more comprehensive understanding of how resources are allocated and the extent to which those investments are producing desired outcomes. This strategic framework provides the lens through which the district’s financial, operational, and performance data are examined throughout this report

Strategic Alignment: The district’s mission, values, and priorities provide a consistent framework for evaluating performance across enrollment, finance, staffing, and student outcomes, ensuring that decisions remain aligned with student success and organizational effectiveness.

Executive Summary 

Cache County School District operates within a constrained local revenue environment while consistently delivering strong student outcomes. Compared to peer districts, Cache generates less local revenue per student because its taxable value base is comparatively low. Despite this limitation, the district has implemented a deliberate operating model that prioritizes competitive educator compensation and long-term workforce stability.

This approach yields distinct trade-offs. Cache maintains higher-than-average teacher salaries, particularly at the mid- and upper-career levels, while operating with larger class sizes and a lower proportion of classroom teachers relative to total staff. Administrative and operational spending remain among the lowest per student in the state, reflecting a lean organizational structure.

At the same time, the district continues to demonstrate strong performance across key student outcomes, including graduation rates, early literacy, mathematics achievement, and participation in advanced coursework. These results indicate that the district is effectively aligning its financial resources, staffing model, and instructional priorities to support student success.

Taken together, the evidence suggests that Cache County School District is operating an efficient, strategically aligned system—one that maximizes available resources to support both educator quality and student achievement while navigating the constraints of its local funding capacity.

The sections that follow provide a detailed examination of the district’s enrollment trends, financial structure, staffing model, and student outcomes to illustrate how this operating model functions in practice.

District Profile and Data Sources  

The report relies on publicly available data. The Utah School Spending Report 2025 (FY2024), published by the Utah Taxpayers Association, uses data from the Utah State Board of Education and the Utah State Tax Commission to compare per-student spending, staffing levels, salary indicators, revenue sources, and school property tax measures across Utah’s 41 school districts.

Additional compensation data come from the Utah School District Teacher Compensation Survey, an annual report compiled by districts that provides detailed information on teacher salaries and benefits across the state. Teacher retention and student performance data are provided by the Utah State Board of Education.

Cache County School District is the state’s ninth-largest district, serving 19,720 students in October 2025. Understanding the district’s enrollment patterns provides important context for evaluating facility utilization, staffing needs, and long-term planning decisions.

Current Enrollment 

Cache County School District continues to experience a plateau in district enrollment after a decade of sustained enrollment growth. The growth of the past decade reflects long-term demographic trends, including population increases and ongoing residential development within the district.

Over the past fourteen years, total enrollment has increased by approximately 29 percent, adding more than 4,500 students. Growth has not been uniform across the district, with higher concentrations in eastern communities and more stable enrollment patterns in other areas.

Current enrollment patterns also vary by grade level. Secondary enrollment (grades 6–12) is at historically high levels, while early elementary enrollment has remained relatively stable. This cohort pattern suggests that near-term enrollment increases in secondary schools will continue as larger student groups progress through the system.

Enrollment Projections 

In a recent demographic and enrollment analysis performed by Applied Economics in April 2025, district demographic projections indicate continued enrollment growth over the next decade, though at a moderated pace compared to prior years. Based on recent trends and projected housing development:

• Five-year projection (2029–30): approximately 21,600 students
• Ten-year projection (2034–35): approximately 23,600 students

Projected growth is influenced by several factors, including:

• Continued residential development, averaging 700–1,000 housing units annually
• Sustained population growth across Cache County
• Larger student cohorts advancing into secondary grades

While elementary enrollment is expected to grow more gradually, middle and high school enrollment will continue to increase as current cohorts advance, placing greater demand on secondary facilities.

District Capacity and Utilization   

Three new buildings will be opening in the fall of 2026. Once the new buildings are opened, facility capacity data for the 2026–27 school year indicate that, at the district level, available capacity exceeds projected enrollment:

• Total Projected Enrollment (2026–27): 20,036 students
• Total Maximum Capacity: 24,235 students

This results in an overall district utilization rate of approximately 82.7 percent.

Although this suggests sufficient capacity at the system level, utilization varies significantly by school. Some schools are operating near or above capacity, while others remain below optimal utilization levels. As a result, districtwide capacity should be interpreted in the context of site-specific conditions.

Second-Level  Enrollment and Capacity 

Enrollment trends indicate that Cache County School District will plateau for the next two to three years before continuing to grow over the next decade, with the most significant increases occurring at the secondary level. While overall district capacity remains sufficient with the addition of three new buildings, utilization may vary considerably across schools. 

Several secondary schools will be operating near or above capacity, while most elementary schools retain additional capacity. This uneven distribution underscores the importance of continued planning for school boundaries and facility utilization to ensure enrollment growth is managed effectively across the district.

Table 1.

Projected Enrollment and Capacity by Elementary School (2026–27)
 

Table 2.

Projected Enrollment and Capacity by Secondary School (2026–27)
 

Note. Percent capacity is calculated as projected enrollment divided by the facility's maximum capacity.

These enrollment trends, particularly the continued growth at the secondary level, have direct implications for both facility capacity and the allocation of financial resources.

Strategic Alignment – Relationships: Boundary adjustments and facility utilization decisions will require continued collaboration with families and communities to ensure that changes are understood, supported, and implemented effectively.

Revenue   

School district funding in Utah is derived primarily from local property taxes and state income tax allocations. Cache has a comparatively weak property tax base, ranking 36th in taxable value per student (sixth-lowest statewide) at $565,275. In comparison, neighboring Logan City School District has a taxable value of $1,084,236 per student, nearly double that of Cache.

This largely reflects the district’s significant amount of undeveloped agricultural land, which is unusual for a district of its size. Most large districts benefit from a stronger mix of residential and commercial property that contributes to their tax base. In practical terms, a lower taxable value per student means that the same tax rate generates fewer dollars per student than in higher-wealth districts.

In terms of property-tax effort, Cache has maintained lower local tax rates than many other districts. The district’s Maintenance and Operations (M&O) rate is below average (0.001536; approximately 70% of the state average in the report). Combined with the district’s lower tax base, this yields a computed M&O yield of about $868 per student, approximately 52% below the state median.

The district’s debt service tax rate is above average (0.002220; 111% of the state average), reflecting the combined effect of its debt and capital levies. When examined separately, the debt levy ranks fifth-highest in the state at 0.001777, reflecting the recent voter-approved bond used to construct three new schools. In contrast, the district’s capital levy ranks sixth lowest statewide at 0.000443. Despite the higher debt rate, the district generates only about $1,255 in debt revenue per student, which remains below the state median because of Cache’s comparatively low taxable value per student.

Consistent with these conditions, Cache relies more heavily on state revenue than many districts, ranking eighth statewide in state funding. The state provides funding through the Minimum School Program on a per-student basis through Weighted Pupil Units (WPUs). Additionally, districts with smaller student populations or lower property tax bases receive additional equalization funding intended to balance resources across districts.

To qualify for this equalization funding, districts must maintain a state-determined minimum M&O tax rate. Because of Utah’s Truth-in-Taxation law, maintaining that rate often requires periodic public hearings to adjust tax rates as property values change.

Table 3.

Peer district comparison: Revenue capacity

Note. M&O yield represents the amount of revenue generated per student from the maintenance and operations tax rate. Source: Utah School Tax and Spending Report 2025 (Utah Taxpayers Association, 2025).

Figure 1.

Taxable value per student: selected peer districts

Note. Cache’s taxable value per student is substantially below Logan City’s and trails several comparison districts, limiting local revenue capacity at equivalent tax rates.

Given these revenue constraints, the district’s approach to staffing and compensation reflects deliberate strategic choices about how available resources are prioritized.

Strategic Alignment – Community: The district’s comparatively low taxable value per student underscores the importance of transparent communication with the community regarding how resources are generated and used to support student learning.

Strategic Staffing  

Despite relatively low overall per-student spending, Cache’s average teacher salary remains competitive. According to the 2025-2026 Utah School District Teacher Compensation Survey, the average teacher salary in 2025 was $81,275, with total compensation, including benefits, averaging $104,995, ranking 13th statewide.

Cache’s salary schedule is distinctive in its structure. Beginning salaries are comparatively lower at $60,825 (22nd statewide), while salaries at the upper end of the scale reach $110,709 (4th statewide). This structure reflects a deliberate strategy to attract and retain experienced teachers during the middle and later stages of their careers, when their instructional impact and leadership within schools are often at their peak.

This strategy is further reinforced by the district’s practice of granting teachers their full years of prior experience on the salary schedule for high-demand positions, whereas many districts cap recognized years of service at approximately seven years. As a result, experienced teachers hired from other districts may enter the salary schedule at higher levels than is typical elsewhere.

Cache School District's administrative compensation is relatively consistent with that of its peers. More notably, Cache's administrative spending per student ranks 39th in the state, reflecting a smaller overall administrative workforce. The district's compensation levels remain competitive, and its lean staffing model helps keep total administrative expenditures well below the state average. These characteristics together reflect a cost-conscious approach to district administration without sacrificing competitive pay.

Table 4.

Peer district comparison: Teacher compensation

Note. Source: Utah School District Teacher Compensation Survey (2025-2026).

Figure 2.

Teacher salary and total compensation: selected peer districts

Note. Cache’s salary schedule is more back-loaded than several peer districts, with comparatively lower starting salaries and a stronger upper-end salary maximum. In addition to salary structure, the district’s broader compensation strategy is reflected in its approach to employee benefits.

Strategic Alignment – Employee Investment: The district’s compensation model reflects a deliberate investment in attracting and retaining experienced educators, recognizing that teacher quality is the most significant in-school factor influencing student achievement.

Benefits  

Cache’s compensation strategy is also reflected in its benefits structure. Many school districts now offer only high-deductible health plans paired with Health Savings Accounts in order to redirect more funding toward salary schedules. While this approach may be attractive to younger, healthier employees, it may not meet the needs of employees with greater healthcare service utilization.

In an effort to remain competitive while managing limited financial resources, Cache’s approach to employee health benefits has evolved over the past three years. The district operates a self-funded health insurance program, meaning the district pays medical claims directly rather than paying fixed premiums to an insurance carrier. This structure carries some financial risk but allows the district to benefit directly when healthcare costs are well managed.

Three years ago, the district offered a single insurance option with very low deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums, fully paid by the district. By the end of the year, however, the plan was overutilized, and the account balance had moved into deficit. In 2023, the district retained the same plan but introduced a 5% employee premium contribution. In 2024, the district introduced a new insurance carrier and expanded employee options to include two plans: a traditional PPO similar to the previous plan and a high-deductible plan paired with a Health Savings Account. In 2025, a third high-deductible option was added. Currently, approximately one-third of employees are enrolled in each of the three available plans.

As part of its ongoing efforts to control rising health care costs, Cache County School District successfully collaborated with key stakeholders to secure lower contracted rates with Logan Regional Hospital, resulting in a direct reduction in the district's overall health insurance expenditures. District leadership worked closely with its benefit consultant, insurance carrier, and hospital representatives to analyze utilization data, identify cost drivers, and establish a rate structure that is more in line with costs at other Intermountain Health facilities. The new contracted rates represent a significant step forward in the district's long-term benefits strategy, ensuring that employees continue to have access to high-quality local care. 

The district’s cost for employee health benefits in 2023-2024 was $23,964 per employee (9th statewide), approximately 20% above the state median. For the 2025-2026 plan year, the cost declined slightly to $23,720 per employee (13th statewide), a 1% reduction and about 8% above the state median.

During this same period, health insurance premiums across Utah school districts increased by an estimated 11% to 13% on average. Despite these statewide pressures, Cache’s health benefit costs have remained relatively stable following the introduction of additional plan options and employee cost sharing. By comparison, Logan City School District’s health benefit costs increased by 26.2% over the same period, highlighting the degree to which Cache’s adjustments have helped stabilize long-term benefit expenditures while maintaining competitive coverage options for employees.

Table 5.

Peer district comparison: Health insurance plans

Note. Source: Summary of Benefits and Coverage documents for Cache, Logan, Nebo, Canyons, Box Elder, and Ogden school districts.

Table 6.

District-paid health benefits change (2023-2024 to 2025-2026)

Note. Source: Utah School District Teacher Compensation Survey (2023-2024; 2025-2026).

Figure 3.

Change in district-paid health benefits, 2023-2024 to 2025-2026

Note. Cache’s district-paid health benefit cost remained essentially flat over the comparison period, contrasting with double-digit growth in several peer districts.

While this approach supports competitive compensation, it also entails trade-offs in staffing structure and classroom capacity.

Strategic Alignment – Employee Investment: Providing multiple health plan options balances cost efficiency with employee needs, supporting both fiscal responsibility and staff well-being.

Staffing Tradeoffs 

A key trade-off associated with higher-than-average teacher salaries appears in class sizes. Cache’s student-to-teacher ratio is 22.3, fourth highest in Utah. In addition, classroom teachers represent 35% of the district’s total staff (31st statewide).

This combination of strong teacher compensation, higher student-to-teacher ratios, and a relatively smaller share of classroom teachers suggests a greater reliance on aides and paraprofessionals to support instruction. Currently, the district employs approximately 963 aides districtwide. Of these, about 414 support reading and mathematics instruction in elementary schools. These staffing patterns influence not only classroom conditions but also the district’s ability to retain educators over time.

Strategic Alignment – Learning & Growth: While larger class sizes reflect resource constraints, maintaining instructional quality within this structure remains central to achieving strong student outcomes.

Teacher Retention 

A key indicator of organizational effectiveness is the ability to attract, develop, and retain high-quality educators. Using five-year retention cohort data (1-year, 3-year, and 5-year retention rates), Cache County School District demonstrates overall retention patterns comparable to those of peer districts, with variation concentrated in the early years of service.

Across comparison districts, retention rates follow a consistent pattern: lower retention in the first year, followed by steady increases over time. Cache aligns with this pattern and becomes more comparable to peer districts over time.

Retention rates increase over time across all districts, indicating that long-term workforce stability is strong once educators remain beyond the early years of service. Cache’s retention profile reflects this pattern. While first-year retention is modestly lower than some peer districts, the gap narrows by year three and is largely eliminated by year five. This indicates that long-term retention is consistent with peer districts.
 

Table 7.

Teacher retention by district and cohort year (2020-2024)

Note. Retention rates are the percentage of teachers who remain employed in the district after 1, 3, and 5 years. Source: 5-year Teacher Retention Data by LEA, USBE.

Beyond staffing, the district’s operating model is also reflected in how resources are allocated across core operational functions.

Strategic Alignment – Employee Investment: Retention patterns indicate that the district is successful in sustaining long-term educator commitment, with targeted opportunities to strengthen support for early-career teachers.

Structural Operations 

Other trade-offs associated with the district’s compensation focus appear in operating expenditures, particularly maintenance and operations. Cache ranks near the bottom statewide on several per-student operating cost measures.

Transportation represents the largest cost within this group (16th statewide), which is consistent with the district’s large geographic footprint and the need to transport students from outlying communities. Media services (19th), student support services (30th), and instruction (31st) rank below many districts but remain higher than Cache’s operations and maintenance spending (38th) and administrative spending (39th), both of which are near the lowest levels statewide.

These lower expenditures have tangible effects on district operations, including delayed curriculum adoptions, deferred maintenance, and increased caseloads for staff responsible for supervising and supporting students.

Table 8.

Cache County School District financial snapshot (FY2024): Per-student spending

Figure 4.

Cache spending rank by category (FY2024)

Note. Higher rank values indicate lower relative standing in statewide per-student spending. Cache ranks near the bottom statewide in administration, O&M, and total spending.

The impact of these financial and staffing decisions is most clearly reflected in student outcomes.

Strategic Alignment – Excellence: Lean operational spending reflects a disciplined approach to resource allocation, prioritizing direct support for instruction while maintaining essential services.

Student Performance 

Despite operating with comparatively lower per-student funding, Cache County School District continues to demonstrate strong performance across multiple measures of student achievement. From early literacy and mathematics proficiency to graduation rates and participation in advanced coursework, the data indicate that Cache students are achieving strong outcomes at each stage of their academic experience. These outcomes are particularly notable given that Cache spends less per student than most Utah districts.

Graduation 

One widely recognized indicator of district performance is the percentage of students graduating each year. Cache’s graduation rate has consistently been approximately 6 to 7 percentage points higher than the state average in Utah. Among the 20 largest school districts in the state, Cache has ranked first in graduation rate nearly every year, finishing second only to Wasatch in 2024. Over time, Cache has maintained an average annual graduation rate near 96%, a level of performance that few districts achieve and even fewer sustain over multiple years.

Table 9.

Graduation rates, selected large Utah districts, 2022-2025

Note. Source: Utah State Board of Education graduation data compiled by district.

Figure 5.

Graduation rate trends

Note. Cache’s graduation rate remained above both the state average and a selected comparison group across the four-year period.

Early Literacy 

Cache has also demonstrated consistently strong outcomes in early literacy. For more than a decade, the district has reported some of the highest third-grade reading scores in Utah. Among the 20 largest districts in the state, Cache has regularly had the highest percentage of students reading at or above the benchmark by the end of third grade and has been the only district to consistently exceed the 80% benchmark. Notably, 80% is the Reading on Grade Level goal established by the Utah Legislature in 2026, a benchmark that Cache has already been meeting for several years.

Table 10.

Third-grade reading at or above benchmark, selected large Utah districts, 2022-2025

Note. Source: Utah statewide early literacy reporting by district.

Figure 6.

Third-grade reading at or above benchmark

Note. Cache maintained a leading position among large districts across the reporting window, though the 2025 value dipped slightly below the 80% benchmark.

Mathmatics

Mathematics outcomes show a similar pattern. Using eighth-grade RISE Math proficiency as a statewide comparison, Cache performs well above the Utah average and has ranked as the highest-performing district among the 20 largest districts in the state each year. With an average proficiency rate of approximately 62%, Cache exceeds the state average by roughly 25 percentage points and is about 10 percentage points higher than the next highest district in the group.

Table 11.

Eighth-grade RISE mathematics proficiency, selected large Utah districts, 2021-2025

Note. Source: Utah statewide RISE mathematics results by district.

Figure 7.

Eighth-grade RISE mathematics proficiency

Note. Cache’s eighth-grade mathematics proficiency substantially exceeded the state average and selected peer districts throughout the period shown.

Strategic Alignment – Learning & Growth: Strong performance across literacy, mathematics, and graduation rates reflects the district’s sustained focus on high levels of student learning.

Concurrent Enrollment and Advanced Placement

Strong foundational outcomes are also reflected in participation and success in advanced coursework at the high school level. Enrollment in concurrent enrollment (CE) and Advanced Placement (AP) courses has increased steadily over the past four years. During that time, the number of students participating in AP and CE courses increased by 28%, from 2,923 to 3,751. Over the same period, the number of AP and CE courses students took increased from 7,823 to 10,302, a 32% increase.

Student success in these courses has also improved. The percentage of AP exams earning a score of three or higher increased from 66.9% in 2021 to 78.7% in 2025. The combination of increased participation and improved pass rates indicates continued growth in both access to and success in advanced coursework opportunities for Cache students.

Strategic Alignment – Learning & Growth: Increased participation and success in advanced coursework indicate expanding opportunities for students to engage in rigorous academic experiences and prepare for post-secondary success.
 

Current State of the District  

When considered together, the district’s enrollment trends, financial structure, staffing model, and student outcomes provide a comprehensive view of its overall performance. Overall, Cache County School District operates leaner than most Utah districts per student (39th in total spending), particularly in administration and facilities operations, while remaining comparatively strong in average teacher compensation.

This operating model reflects a clear trade-off: higher teacher salaries supported by larger class sizes and a smaller share of classroom teachers within the overall workforce.
When academic outcomes, including graduation rates, state assessment performance, third-grade reading proficiency, and student participation in concurrent enrollment and Advanced Placement courses, are considered, the evidence indicates that Cache County School District is using its limited financial resources efficiently to produce strong student outcomes and deliver a meaningful return on investment for the Cache community.

Strategic Alignment: The district’s financial, staffing, and performance data collectively demonstrate alignment between strategic priorities and operational decisions.

References