‘Tax neutral’ proposal: Iron County School District seeks voter approval for $75.5 million in bonds

Written by Jeff Richards
August 28, 2023

CEDAR CITY — The Iron County School District Board of Education has decided to place a $75.465 million general obligation bond proposal on the November election ballot.

Construction site at Cedar Middle School, Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 3, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

At its regular monthly meeting on Aug. 22, the school board members voted 7-0 to move forward with the plan, which officials are calling a “tax neutral” proposal.

“In other words, it’s replacing bonds that are coming off or are being paid off,” Todd Hess, the school district’s business administrator, said during the meeting. “So there’s no net tax effect there.”

School board members, with input from district officials, have identified five main projects as the district’s highest priority needs. They are as follows, along with their estimated costs:

  • A 10th elementary school to be built somewhere in the district, to accommodate anticipated growth. The location has not been determined, although the board members have indicated it won’t be on the site of South Elementary. Estimated cost: $32 million.
  • Expansion of Canyon View High School to include nine additional classrooms, as well as renovating and expanding the weight room and wrestling room facilities. Estimated cost: $12 million.
  • A facility to house the district’s alternative learning programs. Estimated cost $25 million.
  • Artificial turf installed on the football fields at all three of the district’s high schools (Cedar, Canyon View and Parowan). Estimated cost: $6 million.
  • ADA-accessible playground equipment at elementary schools throughout the district, expected to be completed one playground at a time. Estimated cost: $3.5 million.
Chart shows estimated tax payment amounts for a home valued at $300,000, both historic and proposed, if the measure on the November 2023 ballot is approved by voters | Image courtesy of Iron County School District, Cedar City News / St. George News.

Although the total price tag exceeds the amount being requested, “We would plan to use little over $1.7 million in district capital funds that are already there to supplement the bond funds for these projects,” Hess said.

Shortly before the board’s unanimous vote, Board President Ben Johnson said, “That’s the biggest challenge with the bond, is to communicate with the public, and we have to hit the ground running.”

The exact language of the proposal, along with how it will appear in the voter information pamphlet as well as on the ballot, is being worked out. The district has some preliminary information posted on its website.

The proposed measure comes two years after Iron County voters passed a similar-sized bond proposal. The six main projects that were part of that $69.5 million package are as follows, with one already having been completed and three currently under construction:

  • The replacement of Cedar City’s East Elementary School by constructing a new school on the same property, just to the east of the existing building, which is nearly 70 years old. Ground was broken in late May, just as school let out for the summer.
  • Renovation of Cedar High School’s science wing, which was completed in January.
  • Additions and renovations to Cedar and Canyon View middle schools, including expanded spaces for music and performing arts classes, along with science labs and other new classrooms. Construction work on both schools is currently in full swing.
  • A new multi-use facility is planned for the space between Parowan High School and adjacent Parowan Elementary, which will be used as a lunchroom in addition to space for physical education classes and extra-curricular activities. “That project will likely go to bed this winter, probably in December,” said Hunter Shaheen, the district’s facilities management director. “We should probably see movement on that groundbreaking as early as this coming spring.”
  • Still to come is an upgrade of the district’s transportation facility, which will house the fleet of school buses and other vehicles, along with maintenance equipment.

During a recent tour of the East Elementary construction site, Iron County School District Superintendent Lance Hatch noted that the process of placing a bond on the ballot “allows the community to decide whether they want to have the project completed or not.”

“That’s a great thing about living in America is that people get to weigh in on what happens,” Hatch said. “If the community does (support it), then we get to receive those funds from the public to be able to complete those projects.”

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons and one granddaughter. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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