The State of Utah doesn’t provide Salt Lake City School District with money to build or upgrade schools. Instead, the school district relies on taxpayer support to raise money to build or update schools through a bond election. For school districts to raise that money, voters have to approve a “general obligation bond” referendum in the November general election.  

In the same way homeowners borrow money in the form of a mortgage to buy a new home, school districts can borrow money to pay to build or update schools. The school district sells bonds to build and upgrade schools and facilities and, through their property taxes, residents pay back part of the principal and interest every year until the bond is paid off. 

Since we don’t have a direct source of funding for building or updating schools, the district is asking for voters to support a bond to 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 for East High School, 

• implement sustainability upgrades throughout the district. 

Highland and West High Schools 

Both Highland and West have:  

1. Outdated infrastructure, including outdated plumbing and electrical systems, insufficient power outlets for student devices, poor heating and cooling systems, and challenges in expanding access to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.

   • Our current buildings cannot meet the demands of 21st century education. 

2. Problematic building layouts with multiple entry and exit points, which pose school safety and security concerns. 

3. Classrooms that are too small and lack flexibility.  

   • Rebuilding Highland High School and West High School would allow for flexible classroom spaces and increased student enrollment in certain tech-focused programs. 

East High School athletic field house 

None of our high schools currently has a modern athletic field house with indoor field space like other high schools in the Salt Lake valley do. With a rebuild of Highland and West, East High would be left as the only comprehensive high school in our district without an athletic field house. We want students across the district to have access to the same level of opportunity, which includes up-to-date facilities. 

Sustainability upgrades 

In 2020, the Board passed a student-led sustainability resolution that set these goals:  

1. to use 100% clean, renewable energy in our energy sector by 2030, and 

2. to meet 100% of all district energy needs with carbon neutral energy by 2040. 

The bond will pay for sustainability upgrades to elementary and middle schools throughout the district. This will take us from being 22% of the way towards achieving the board’s sustainability goals to being about 70% of the way towards our goals. 

No. By law, bond funds can only be used for capital improvements, which are projects related to buildings and facilities (i.e. construction, building renovations, HVAC systems, etc.). 

The district values and safeguards the funds it receives from taxpayers. In preparing to go out for bond, the district hired two architecture firms to conduct feasibility studies at Highland High School and West High School during the 2022-23 school year to determine whether it would be feasible to rebuild each school, to lay out options for doing so, and to determine how much this would cost. The district also works with a financial advisor and other professionals to advise us on how to get what our students need at the lowest possible cost to taxpayers. After consulting with these experts and considering the impact of a bond on our community, the district determined that $730 million is a realistic amount needed to get these projects done. 

The district will only issue bonds up the total costs of the projects. If there is excess bond authorization, the excess authorization will expire after 10 years. 

Yes, we will work with our bond advisors, and if rates decline after bonds are issued, those bonds can be refinanced at a lower rate. We did this several times with our previous bonds (approved in 1999) and saved taxpayers thousands of dollars.  

The school district is responsible for sharing information with voters about the proposed bond so the community can make an informed decision at the polls. 

The district would have to reevaluate its capital projects and determine which ones would have to wait. 

The bond amount includes costs for designing the campus, construction, demolition of any existing structures (if needed), and furnishings. The total amount also includes estimates for inflation, because each high school would take several years to complete.  

Yes, both buildings have been retrofitted for seismic safety. Additionally, we prioritize school safety measures and protocol and keep up to date on necessary repairs.

Since we won’t know until after the election whether the bond will pass and we have sufficient funds to rebuild, we have not yet paid for building design. The design cost for both Highland High School and West High School is included in the total amount of the bond. 

Most elementary and middle school buildings were rebuilt or retrofitted using the previous bonds from 1999 or cash savings. Because the cost of building an elementary or middle school is much less than the cost of building a full, comprehensive high school, it is anticipated that future rebuilds of other buildings would be financed with cash reserves that will be built up over several years. 

The district reviews its capital needs and compares them with its revenue allocated for capital expenditures. Those needs that are too expensive to be paid for with current resources or cash balances are prioritized for bonding projects. 

Every year, each principal does a campus walk-through with the Director of Auxiliary Services to complete an annual comprehensive facility assessment. During the walk-through, they identify current and future building needs from a functional, operational, and safety perspective. 

Before each walk-through, the school principal assesses various aspects of their campus and facilities, including functionality, operational efficiency, and safety. The principal identifies and provides a prioritized list of needs or wants for their school, which gives the Executive Director of Auxiliary Services and his team valuable insights to prioritize facility needs across the district as funding becomes available.  

The November 2024 bond election has no impact on the conversation about a possible high school in the Glendale area. Currently, the district lacks a sufficiently large plot of land (30 acres) needed to consider building a comprehensive high school in the Glendale neighborhood. Without land, there is no way forward.