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WASHINGTON TERRACE — The four school projects envisioned in a $279 million bond issue approved by Weber School District voters in 2021 are moving forward, with three new schools set to open for the 2024-2025 school year.
As with many big-ticket endeavors, though, the price tag has escalated, and the plans will end up costing as much as $60 million more, district officials estimate, or possibly $339 million in total — "primarily because of inflation and (rising) construction costs," said Lane Findlay, the district spokesman.
The price hike, a point of discussion dating to last year, hasn't seemed to upset residents in the growing school district, which encompasses all of Weber County except Ogden. The specter of issuing up to $60 million more in bonds didn't generate any public feedback at a hearing on the matter Thursday. That's when officials set a second public hearing date of June 12, when they're to take final action on the bond plans.
Findlay, though, noted that the lease revenue bond proposal isn't expected to take an additional bite out of taxpayers' pockets due to debt that's to be retired. "It's actually revenue neutral," he said.
In increasing the district's capital levy last August to cover the cost of the extra bonding, school officials simultaneously reduced the district's debt-service levy as other obligations are paid off.
Three new schools are taking shape in western Weber County as part of the expansion plans to accommodate growth in the area:
- West Field High School in Taylor
- Mountain View Junior High School in West Haven
- Haven Bay Elementary in West Haven
All three are scheduled to open to students for the 2024-2025 school year in August.
The fourth prong of the plans — where the new bond revenue will be funneled — is the rebuild of Roosevelt Elementary in Washington Terrace. Work is underway and to be completed in time for the 2025-2026 school year, Findlay said. More immediately, the existing Roosevelt structure will be torn down at the end of the current school year, and students will temporarily attend H. Guy Child, Washington Terrace and Burch Creek elementary schools for the 2024-2025 school year.
Weber School District had around 32,100 students as of the start of the 2023-2024 school year, according to Utah Board of Education data. It's the eighth-largest district in the state, according to enrollment.
