2024 Bond Proposal - Salt Lake City School District

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Bond Information

Highland and West High Schools

East High School Field House

Bond Information

The Board of Education of Salt Lake City School District has called for an election in November 2024 to ask voters for $730 million in general obligation bonds to rebuild two high schools, construct an athletic field house, and to make sustainability upgrades at schools and facilities throughout the district.

General obligation bonds are a type of loan that must be approved by voters because they are secured by property taxes. General obligation bonds are only available to government entities and can only be used for projects related to buildings and facilities. They cannot be used to pay for teacher salaries, classroom materials, or other educational expenses. In this case, the bonds would pay to:

rebuild Highland High School with on-site solar power and ground source heat pumps,
rebuild West High School with on-site solar power,
build an athletic field house at East High School, and
fund other energy conservation and sustainability projects to help the district meet its renewable energy and carbon neutrality goals.

The decision to go out for bond comes after years of patchwork building repairs and “making things work” at Highland High School and West High School. It also comes after consulting with experts – architects, demographers, other school districts – as we’ve considered the impacts of the bond and the projects on students, staff, families, and our broader Salt Lake City community.

Highland and West High Schools

We are Utah’s capital city district and, over time, we’ve adapted to meet the changing educational needs of our students. Now, our older high schools need modernizing to match present-day teaching practices and to support the technology used by our educators and students.

West High School is the oldest high school in Utah. The main building was built in 1921, with numerous additions throughout the years to meet the needs of a growing student body. Highland High School was built in 1955 and opened to students in 1956.

Both schools have outdated infrastructure, including:

outdated plumbing and electrical systems,
insufficient power outlets for student devices,
poor heating and cooling systems, and
challenges in expanding access to modern-day tech and system management tools.

These infrastructure challenges make even basic repairs more costly and mean that even the current Highland High School and West High School buildings cannot meet the demands of 21st century education.

Both Highland High School and West High School also have:

problematic building layouts with multiple entry and exit points, which pose school safety and security concerns; and
classrooms that are too small and lack flexibility.

In rebuilding Highland and West, the designs will consider modern-day best practices related to school safety, security, and building layout. Rebuilding would also allow for flexible classroom spaces and increased student participation in certain tech-focused programs. You can view a report about the architects’ recommendations on our website.

Click on the photos to see larger images.

Pipes drilled through exterior of old building

East High School Field House

None of our high schools currently has a modern athletic field house with indoor field space like other high schools in the area have. Constructing field houses at West and Highland High Schools will be part of their rebuilds, and the bond will fund building an athletic field house at East High School, too. These field houses can be used for:

training and practice for student-athletes, no matter the weather,
storing athletic equipment,
locker rooms with showers and changing areas,
team meetings and coaching, and
PE classes and other school activities.

Sustainability

array of solar panels on school rooftop — Click photo for larger image

The district is committed to a sustainable future. In 2020, the board adopted a student-led Sustainability Resolution that established the following goals:

to use 100% clean energy by 2030, and
to be 100% carbon neutral by 2040.

The district has completed some of the projects in our Sustainability Action Plan, which have brought us 22% of the way towards meeting our goals. The bond will help the district conserve even more by:

adding or expanding solar panels at 14 schools and facilities, and
installing hybrid electric heat pumps and controls at 13 schools and facilities.

Completing these projects will take the district from being 22% of the way towards achieving the board’s sustainability goals to being about 70% of the way towards our sustainability goals.

Taxpayer Impact

Salt Lake City School District has been very thoughtful in how it spends taxpayer money. We have not bonded since 1999. Since then, we have prioritized the seismic retrofitting of every district school, including rebuilding several elementary and middle schools. The last two elementary schools and district office have been built thanks to sound financial management and without asking our community for additional financial support.

The district has one of the lowest property tax rates in the state. If the bond passes, the district anticipates maintaining a property tax rate lower than the state average. In the chart below, Salt Lake City School District’s current tax rate is represented by the red line, with the state average tax rate represented by the green line. If the bond passes, the new tax rate for the district is represented by the yellow line, showing that our tax rate would still remain lower than the state average.

It is anticipated that passing the bond will increase property taxes by $38.33 per year ($3.19 per month) for every $100,000 in home value. The district estimates it would take about 25 years to pay off the bond, but as interest rates go up and down during that time, the impact on taxpayers may vary.