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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Canyons School District board members on Tuesday voted to approve a time line that includes 13 new construction, repair or replacement projects within the next 10 years.
First on the list will be a new high school, built to accommodate the growing numbers of high school students in the Draper area and to facilitate a grade reconfiguration within the district that would place ninth-graders in high school.
Albion Middle, Butler Middle, Midvale Elementary and Sandy Elementary schools will also see immediate action, meaning that students will be bused to other locations during construction at their schools.
"It is long overdue," said Nancy Tingey, who has children at Albion. She said they have expressed some excitement over having a new school, especially the addition of air conditioning and a more functional layout.
The board will issue up to $70 million in bonds approved by voters last June to cover the immediate construction costs on the first five projects. Some of the costs will be covered by ongoing capital, or cash sitting in the district's account.
Declining property values for the third straight year have threatened to shelve the issuing of the bond money and delay improvement projects but the board decided that taking advantage of available interest rates and construction costs is in the best interest of the community. The district has identified $650 million in necessary improvements throughout its boundaries, but the recent bond election allotted just $250 million — to tackle situations most dire.
They have promised it could be done without a tax increase.
"It's really like juggling knives," said board member Kim Murphy Horiuchi. "Timing is everything here."
Completion of the remaining eight projects is contingent on future economic conditions, according to the district CFO Keith Bradford. All 13 projects are estimated to cost the district $293 million and extend through 2018.
"We have to be careful that we don't start a project that we don't have the money to finish," he said. The board was looking at an approximate 7 to 8 percent increase in construction costs if they delayed the first five projects just a year, which was one of the options discussed Tuesday.
"I really feel strongly that we have to complete all 13 projects," Bradford said. His projections allow that — if property values stabilize in the coming years.
Board members also discussed razing Mountain View Elementary School, which has been vacant for six years, and sodding the property to accommodate recreation programs in the community that will lose at least three full playing fields during the construction. An official discussion on the matter will occur at the board's next meeting.
"This (decision) removes a lot of the uncertainty," board member Kevin Cromar said, adding that parents and children in the area can now feel settled in making plans for their future.
Overall, the board decided that using cash on-hand to pay for some of the proposed projects would be the most efficient way to accomplish its goals of upgrading schools and accommodating its academic plan, which includes a grade reconfiguration. It also allows them to keep with the original time frame, expecting the new Draper high school to open in the fall of 2013.
Sherril Taylor called it "great news" for the communities involved and said he is "ready to move forward with the first phase of the bond."
E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com
