What happens if the bond does not pass?

The projects for the August 2019 bond were identified as the key next steps of the District's 12-year facilities plan. If the bond does not pass, the School Board and administration will work together to identify what needs to happen next to address these needs.

It is possible that the Board could approve a resolution to present the same bond to our patrons at a later date. This is especially true if there is strong support for this bond, but it still falls short of the 2/3 minimum super-majority required for passage.

If there is an evident lack of support for this bond, then the Board and administration will develop a plan to learn what patrons' concerns are with these projects and discuss ways to meet the needs of our schools until a bond can be passed. The steps that we have taken in the past to address growing enrollment include shifting school boundaries to move students into less crowded schools and purchasing temporary classrooms.

Why Is the District Proposing to Build the Additions Now?

Beginning construction while student enrollment is below the schools’ capacity will allow us to start building additions without disrupting classroom instruction. The District will be able to remove some of the temporary modular classrooms to begin constructing the new additions. If enrollment grows to 1,600 students at Hillcrest and Bonneville before the additions are constructed, we will need to utilize all of the modular classrooms on the high school campuses, some of which are located where the classroom additions will be built. This will lead to significantly increased costs to move the trailers and provide power to new locations.

Why did the District not build additions instead of building a new high school?

Additions to Hillcrest and Bonneville were both considered during the bond for Thunder Ridge. At that time, we needed to build 72 new classrooms to accommodate our growing high school enrollment. In consultation with architects and patron advisory committees, we determined that it was more feasible and economical to construct a new high school than to add 36 more classrooms and improve the infrastructure at Bonneville and Hillcrest.

Inadequate parking for students and staff
Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and A.D.A. compliance for such a large facility would have been expensive to bring up to code

How will the new entrances actually improve student safety?

The current entrances at Hillcrest and Bonneville have several key challenges.
The front entrances are not easy to identify for visitors. This leads to visitors trying to enter the buildings through doors that are not designated as main entrances.
Once visitors enter the school, they can immediately access hallways and classrooms without first having to check in with the administrative office. Our inability to monitor the entrances poses a security concern for staff and students. By constructing new entrances, visitors will need to check in with the administrative office before accessing hallways and classrooms, similar to the entrance at Thunder Ridge.

Why do the additions include new administrative offices instead of focusing on instructional space?

Moving the administrative offices will allow the administration and office staff to better monitor and supervise the parking areas and the student traffic coming in and out of the schools.