Cache parents upset over new schools proposed at opposite ends of valley


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NORTH LOGAN — Parents in the Cache Valley School District are concerned over a proposal that would put a middle school and a high school on opposite ends of the community, separated by the Logan City School District in the middle.

The parents say the current proposal would not only split up the community, but create a long commute and put more teens on the area's busiest roads. The school district said high schools are at at least 93-percent capacity and need relief, though.

The $100 million-proposal, meant to fight overcrowding, would put a high school at the south end of the valley, in Millville, doubling the commute distance of North Logan teens who currently attend Skyview High School, about five miles away. A new middle school would be built at the opposite end of the valley, in North Logan.

Some parents have voiced their concerns about having students driving down Logan's Main Street at a single time twice a day. It may not be big-city traffic, they said, but it can still be dangerous.

Recommendations of Cache County School District Building Task Force:
  • Add a new high school to the district and change all high school grade configurations to 9-12, thus addressing the current over-capacity secondary school problem and providing for student number growth for several years to come.
  • Replace Lewiston and Wellsville Elementary Schools to address the issues of seismic fitness, out-of-date infrastructure and energy inefficiency.
  • Upgrade Summit, Providence and Millville to address seismic deficiencies

Added to the safety concerns are timing issues, as well, as parents try to juggle their students' extracurricular activities.

"It's going to take 45 minutes out of our day to go pick up our child from, you know, every band practice, or whatever they have," said Julie Backlund, another parent of a Cache County student.

Another proposal is in the works that would build two smaller high schools on each end, but the current bond amount would have to be raised by about $20 million.

The district is planning to conduct a survey in coming months to get a better idea of what residents want. They hope to get the bond proposal to a vote in June.

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Mike Anderson

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